Former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo will testify about nursing home deaths during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Democrat has agreed to testify publicly next week, on September 10, before a congressional subcommittee, according to The New York Times.
He is expected to answer questions about the thousands of people who have died in New York nursing homes during the pandemic.
“Andrew Cuomo owes answers to the 15,000 families who lost loved ones in New York City nursing homes during the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Ohio Rep. Brad Wenstrup, a Republican who chairs the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic.
Former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo to testify on nursing home deaths during Covid-19 pandemic
Cuomo testified behind closed doors for seven hours in June in front of House Republicans after being served with a subpoena.
The Cuomo administration came under significant scrutiny for a policy that initially required nursing homes to readmit patients who recovered from COVID-19 in an effort to prevent hospitals from being overwhelmed. That added to the state’s mortality figures, which significantly undercounted deaths.
An independent investigation into Cuomo’s handling of the pandemic concluded that Cuomo’s “top-down” approach of dictating public health policy through his office, rather than coordinating with state and local agencies, sowed confusion during the crisis.
In the state’s nursing homes, where some 15,000 people have died, a lack of communication from management to agencies and facilities resulted in wasted resources and mistrust, not to mention anxiety for residents’ loved ones, according to the independent investigation commissioned by current Gov. Kathy Hochul in 2022.
However, research by a consulting firm found that while policies on how nursing homes should handle COVID-19 were “hasty and uncoordinated,” they were based on the best understanding of the science at the time.
The Olson Group report, which praised the state’s rapid and comprehensive vaccination program at the facilities, said death rates there were ultimately consistent with the rest of the country.
Cuomo resigned from office in August 2021 amid sexual harassment allegations, which he denies. Hochul, a fellow Democrat who had been Cuomo’s deputy, inherited the post and was re-elected the following year.