ALBANY – The State Health Department was unprepared to respond to infectious disease outbreaks in nursing homes even before the COVID-19 pandemic hit New York, an audit by State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli’s office found.
The auditors also found the department did not provide the public with accurate COVID-19 death counts and became entangled in the undercounting of those deaths as the executive took control of the information provided to the public.
The health department understated the number of nursing home deaths due to COVID-19 by at least 4,100, and at times during the pandemic by more than 50 percent, the DiNapoli report said.
Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro said former Governor Cuomo needs to be held accountable.
“Andrew Cuomo and the Cuomo administration lied, they covered up, and they used that coverup to direct policy that led to the loss of lives all across America,” he said. “They violated federal law. There needs to be a federal prosecution and a congressional investigation. That administration and that man needs to be held accountable and there needs to be a reckoning.”
“The pandemic was devastating and deadly for New Yorkers living in nursing homes. Families have a right to know if their loved one’s COVID-19 death was counted, but many still don’t have answers from the State Health Department,” DiNapoli said. “Our audit findings are extremely troubling. The public was misled at the highest level of state government through distortion and suppression of facts when New Yorkers deserved the truth.”
“This audit affirms many of the findings that we uncovered last year about the state’s response to COVID, most notably that DOH and the former governor undercounted the number of deaths in nursing homes by as much as 50 percent,” said Attorney General Letitia James. “I am grateful to Comptroller DiNapoli for bringing much needed transparency to this critical issue. My office will continue to monitor nursing home conditions and ensure the safety of our most vulnerable residents. If anyone has concerns about nursing home conditions, I urge them to contact my office.”
