EVERYONE BUT ME AT FAULT: CUO
First, Gov. Cuomo blamed nursing-home operators for the thousands of resident deaths that happened after a widely criticized Health Department directive barred the facilities from turning away coronavirus-positive people — and now, he’s pointing a finger at the White House.
Critics should “ask President Trump” about it, the governor said Wednesday, arguing that the federal government actually cooked up the mandate — and that New York was just following Washington’s lead.
“Anyone who wants to ask, ‘Why did the state do that with COVID patients in nursing homes?’ it’s because the state followed President Trump’s CDC [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] guidance,” Cuomo said when asked whether he had any regrets about the directive that potentially sparked a rash of coronavirus-related deaths in the facilities.
“They should ask President Trump. I think that will stop the conversation,” he repeated.
Despite frequently jousting with the president throughout the pandemic, however, Cuomo betrayed no regrets on adopting that March 25 directive, even with 5,681 confirmed or suspected coronavirus deaths now reported in nursing homes.
“You have to remember the facts,” the governor said. “The CDC guidance said a nursing home cannot discriminate against a COVID patient.”
Asked point-blank if the state’s adherence to that policy, which is not federal law, fueled the nursing-home death toll, Cuomo gave a flat denial — but said that if there is any blame, it lies with the facilities.
“No. Because you’d have to be saying the nursing homes were wrong in accepting COVID-positive patients,” he said.
Cuomo — who had maintained the nursing homes always
had both a right and a responsibility to get help placing patients for whom they’re not equipped to care — has announced a state attorney general probe. But it’s not an investigation of the policy under which the operators were bound — but of the facilities and their response.
A flood of state lawmakers, however, have called for independent investigations into what role the March 25 directive by Cuomo Health Commissioner Howard Zucker played in the hellish nursing-home death tolls.
Some of those same politicians balked at Cuomo again trying to deflect blame.
“He can’t have it both ways,” said Assemblyman Ron Kim (D-Queens). “The governor said the buck stops with him, [to] blame him for decisions made during the pandemic.
“It’s not ‘Blame me except when it comes to nursing [homes].’ ”
Assemblywoman Nicole Malliotakis (R-SI/Brooklyn) said, “Perhaps Gov. Cuomo needs to be reminded of the famous sign on President Harry Truman’s desk: ‘The buck stops here.’ ”
A spokesman for Cuomo pushed back on the bipartisan criticism.
“Cheap and petty politics aside do not change the actual facts: New York and 14 other states adopted policies based on federal guidance,” said Rich Azzopardi.
Cuomo said during his briefing that he did not fear a closer look at the policy.
“I’m not resistant,” he said. “If the federal government wants to start a probe, then they can start a probe. It is irrelevant to me.”
Meanwhile, Mayor de Blasio announced that starting next week, the city will offer free diagnostic tests to all 169 Big Apple nursing homes.
“Whatever amount of testing, whatever amount of lab capacity they need, we will find it for them,” de Blasio said.