ALBANY (WCBS 880) — Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Monday stopped short of an apology for how nursing homes were handled during the pandemic but, did say he would have done some things differently.
During his virtual press conference, Cuomo repeated the word dozens of times, saying he created a “void.”
“When we didn't provide information, it allowed press people, cynics, politicians to fill the void,” the governor said.
That, however, seemed to be the extent of his regret that information was not provided faster around nursing homes in the state of New York during the coronavirus pandemic.
The governor said numbers he released were always accurate and nothing was ever hidden.
“Everyone was busy, everybody was here every day. We're in the midst of managing a pandemic,” Cuomo said.
For months, lawmakers were calling on Cuomo to release more data on nursing home deaths amid the pandemic, but the administration was delayed for around six months.
It remains unclear what took so long, but Cuomo said the delay was partially due to President Donald Trump’s Department of Justice requesting information at the same time.
“We did give the DOJ request precedence and we told both houses that,” Cuomo said.
Though, several lawmakers are disputing that notion, including fellow Democrats who say they learned of the DOJ inquiry just last week.
Following the news from one of Cuomo’s top aides that the administration “froze” in releasing nursing home data because they feared it would be “used” against them, a majority of state senators have called for Cuomo’s emergency powers to end. However, the governor says the pandemic cannot be managed locally.
Meanwhile, State Sen. Sue Serino is demanding transparency from the Cuomo administration by sending a Freedom of Information request for a full transcript or recording of the private meeting held on Feb. 10 regarding COVID deaths in the state’s nursing homes.
“There should have never been a secret meeting behind closed doors,” she said.
The republican state senator said those who lost loved ones to COVID-19 in state nursing homes are experiencing a gut-wrenching pain and she just wants answers for them.
“They deserve transparency and the truth; and that's all anybody asking for right now,” Serino said.
Under FOIL, Cuomo’s administration will have just five business days to respond to her request.
“The truth always comes out. That's, I think, the only thing that really spurred this on because they saw like, ‘oh my god, the Attorney General did this investigation, only a partial investigation, and she's already finding things that have gone wrong,’” Serino said.
New York Senate Republican leader Robert Ortt, in a statement, described the governor's lack of apology over the nursing home situation a “shocking slap in the face.”
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