The governor defended New York’s response as the pandemic has killed more than 5,000 nursing home residents over the past two months, saying Wednesday the state’s recently reversed directive sending coronavirus patients back to elder care facilities was based on directives from the White House and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“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 guidance,” Cuomo said during a press briefing in Albany. "So they should ask President Trump.
“I think that will stop the conversation,” he added.
In recent days, Republicans led by Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-Watertown), have called for a federal investigation into the state’s regulations regarding nursing homes and long-term care facilities in the midst of the COVID-19 outbreak.
At issue is a March 25 guidance from the state Health Department instructing nursing homes to accept coronavirus-positive residents back into facilities, potentially exposing other elderly residents and staff to the deadly virus.
Earlier this month a new regulation was enacted that says patients can’t be discharged to nursing homes unless they first test negative for the coronavirus.
“The governor took executive action, forcing positive COVID cases back into nursing homes," Stefanik said during a Fox News interview Tuesday. “There was zero transparency in terms of informing the seniors, the workers, or the family members whether there were positive cases.”
Cuomo said the state was doing all that it could do to ensure hospitals were not overburdened at the height of the outbreak and has said repeatedly in recent weeks that if a nursing home was incapable of treating a COVID-19 patient they could contact the state and work something out.
n addition to reversing the earlier directive, Cuomo mandated that all nursing homes in the state must test staff twice a week for the virus.
New York also sent out 320,000 test kits to nursing homes across the state on Monday to assist with the rule.
The governor brushed off calls for an independent probe.
“If the federal government wants to start a probe, they can start a probe,” Cuomo said. “What do I have to do with whether or not a federal probe happens?
“it is irrelevant to me. I have no role in determining a federal probe. I don’t welcome, not welcome. It doesn’t matter. President Trump does what he wants to do. He doesn’t listen to a governor,” he added.