New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s administration ordered the group homes of people with disabilities to accept COVID-19 patients and never rescinded the order.
“I am deeply concerned that the April 10th order from OPWDD needlessly put some of our most vulnerable citizens in harm’s way. Close on the heels of the deadly nursing home order from the Department of Health (DOH), this order appears both dangerous and tone deaf,” Republican state Sen. Mike Martucci said in a statement. “Transparency has been a major failing of this administration at all levels.”
The order was similar to Cuomo’s controversial nursing home order made at about the same time last year, telling the homes they were not allowed to require coronavirus testing for hospitalized patients at admission or readmission. But unlike the nursing home order, the group homes order has never been rescinded by the administration.
People with disabilities living in group homes have seen a coronavirus case rate almost four times higher than the general population, while the fatality rate has been nearly double, according to an October 2020 study.
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The New York Office for People With Developmental Disabilities reported 522 coronavirus deaths among residents in homes for people with disabilities, while 6,900 of the 34,552 residents in the group homes have been infected with the virus.
“These group homes were required to have a process in place to expedite the return of asymptomatic residents from the hospital, who were deemed appropriate for return to their OPWDD certified residence,” OPWDD said in a statement. “In other words, OPWDD providers could accept individuals only if they could safely accommodate them in the group home.”
The statement also said that people “who could not be safely accommodated either remained at the hospital or were served in one of the over 100 temporary sites established for COVID-19 recovery efforts in partnership with OPWDD provider agencies.”
Republican lawmakers in the state have begun looking into the order and have sent a letter to the commissioner of the New York State Office of People with Developmental Disabilities seeking updated data on the homes but have so far been unable to get up-to-date information from the Cuomo administration.
The news comes as Cuomo continues to be engulfed in a scandal related to his handling of nursing homes in the early days of the pandemic. The governor is also facing multiple allegations of sexual harassment, which have increased demands for his resignation.
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Cuomo has remained defiant amid the controversy, saying there is “no way” he will resign.
“I was elected by the people of the state,” Cuomo said. “I wasn’t elected by politicians. I’m not going to resign because of allegations.”
Cuomo’s office did not immediately respond to the Washington Examiner’s request for comment.
