NEW YORK (WCBS 880) – A state Supreme Court judge ordered the state Department of Health to release new numbers on nursing home COVID deaths following a request from a watchdog group. The numbers, released this weekend, show more than 13,000 nursing home residents died from the virus from March 1 to Feb. 5.
Albany-based watchdog group Empire Center for Public Policy said the state postponed releasing the numbers on nursing home resident deaths three times since its first request in early August of last year under the Freedom of Information Act.
In a statement last week, Health Commissioner Dr. Howard Zucker reported 12,743 COVID deaths out of the state’s nursing homes from last March to Jan. 19. The new report, posted Saturday and dated Feb. 4, shows a higher number at 13,163 deaths. The data shows 4,067, or 31%, of the deaths were outside of the facilities.
Related
On Wednesday, state Supreme Court Justice Kimberly O’Connor ordered the department to release the data to Empire Center.
In a statement, Empire Center said the Health Department was given five days to comply with the judge’s request and still has not formally contacted the non-profit. The organization said the details released Saturday by the state “represent a tiny fraction of what the Empire Center requested.”