Former New York governor Andrew Cuomo testifies on COVID-19 nursing home policy – CNYcentral.com

Former New York governor Andrew Cuomo testifies on COVID-19 nursing home policy

by Megan Coleman | CNY Central

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo gives his press briefing about the coronavirus crisis on April 17, 2020 in Albany, New York. (Photo by Matthew Cavanaugh/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON, D.C.

Former governor Andrew Cuomo spent Tuesday on Capitol Hill, testifying about his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. He is accused of misrepresenting the number of deaths reported inside state nursing homes during the pandemic.

Cuomo was peppered with questions from reporters as he walked into the closed interview with the Oversight Select Subcommittee on the coronavirus pandemic. Cuomo maintains New York committed no wrongdoing following investigations by the Department of Justice.

"The Department of Justice investigation, three of them, found no wrongdoing. Investigations found that New York followed the federal guidance that was established."

Cuomo was the face of New York's response to the pandemic at its height in the spring of 2020 as the virus ravaged the country and hit New York particularly hard. On Tuesday, Congressional Republicans grilled Cuomo about the March 2020 advisory which barred New York nursing homes from rejecting patients who tested positive for COVID-19. Some people say they lost family members because of the policy.

Cuomo is aiming to defend himself from accusations that the nursing home directive led to the needless death of nursing home patients. The former governor insists the state followed directives issued by the Trump administration and the CDC, "CMS (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services) and CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) did very extensive instructive guidance and the investigations say New York followed the federal guidance."

The former governor calls it all purely political, saying only blue states were investigated and not red states, which issued the same directives.

On the eve of his testimony, New York representative Claudia Tenney (R, NY-24) took to social media as did Rep. Elise Stefanik (R, NY-21).

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Former New York governor Andrew Cuomo testifies on COVID-19 nursing home policy - CNYcentral.com