Rep. Elise Stefanik blasted New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, calling the coronavirus nursing home scandal in New York a “criminal coverup at the highest levels.”
“As predicted, the Worst Governor in America and his hacks are trying to blame the nursing homes,” Stefanik tweeted Thursday. “This was a criminal coverup at the highest levels of New York State Government orchestrated by Cuomo and his sycophant staff.”
As predicted, the Worst Governor in America and his hacks are trying to blame the nursing homes.
This was a criminal coverup at the highest levels of New York State Government orchestrated by Cuomo and his sycophant staff.
— Elise Stefanik (@EliseStefanik) January 28, 2021
Stefanik’s comment comes in response to a report from New York Attorney General Letitia James showing that the state undercounted coronavirus nursing home deaths by 50%, and the Department of Justice is currently debating whether or not to get involved.
New York State Department of Health Commissioner Howard Zucker confirmed on Thursday that at least 12,743 long-term nursing home residents died from the coronavirus as of Jan. 19, 4,200 more than the tally provided on that day.
Cuomo has been widely panned for his response to the criticism, which included a comment this week from his spokesperson appearing to place blame on nursing home workers.
“The cause of the spread in the nursing homes in every state of this nation has been — through no fault of their own — through asymptomatic staffers,” the spokesperson told the New York Post.
During an interview on Tuesday, Cuomo blamed “incompetent government” for the coronavirus deaths in New York, the most out of any state, and said, “More people died than needed to die in COVID. That’s the truth.”
In March, Cuomo issued an order requiring nursing homes to accept coronavirus patients, and the New York Department of Health said in May that its coronavirus reporting was not accurately capturing the total number of nursing home deaths.
Overall, 43,200 people have died from the coronavirus in New York as a result of just over 1.4 million cases.
