New York Governor Praised for 'COVID Response' Admits to Underreporting Deaths in Nursing Homes

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[Asia Economy Reporter Seulgina Cho] Andrew Cuomo, Governor of New York State, USA, has admitted to downplaying the number of COVID-19 deaths in nursing homes.

According to the Associated Press and others, Governor Cuomo held a press conference at the state government building on the 15th (local time) and acknowledged that there was a delay in reporting the number of nursing home deaths to the state legislature. He stated, "The gap caused by our failure to provide information was filled with meetings, cynicism, and conspiracy theories, which caused further confusion," admitting that the information was not disclosed transparently. He also added, "We should have done better to provide as much information as possible as quickly as possible," and "I accept responsibility without excuse on this matter."

However, Governor Cuomo denied allegations that he intentionally downplayed the number of COVID-19 deaths. He explained that at the end of August last year, both the state legislature and the federal Department of Justice simultaneously requested the total number of nursing home deaths, but due to manpower shortages caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, they processed the Department of Justice's request first, and it was not an intentional cover-up.

Allegations that Governor Cuomo reduced the reported death toll have been raised since August last year. In particular, controversy escalated last month when the New York State Attorney General's Office released a report suggesting that patients who died after being transferred from nursing homes to hospitals were omitted from the statistics. Governor Cuomo explained the exclusion of deaths occurring after hospital transfer as a "classification issue." Including these would increase New York State's death toll from the initially reported 8,500 to as many as 15,000.

Furthermore, criticism toward Governor Cuomo has intensified across party lines after it was revealed that Melissa DeRosa, a close aide to Cuomo, refused a request from the state legislature's Democratic leadership via video conference on the 10th of this month to disclose the number of nursing home deaths as of August last year. Some voices are even calling for the reduction of emergency powers granted to Governor Cuomo or for him to resign from his position.

During the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, Cuomo, serving his third term, was praised for demonstrating leadership through transparent information disclosure and swift response by holding daily briefings.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.