New York State Administration Probed Over COVID-19 Response In Nursery Homes, Reports

New York State Administration Probed Over COVID-19 Response in Nursery Homes, Reports

US federal prosecutors launched an inquiry into the handling of the COVID-19 pandemic in state-run nursery homes by the administration of New York governor Andrew Cuomo, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the case

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 18th February, 2021) US Federal prosecutors launched an inquiry into the handling of the COVID-19 pandemic in state-run nursery homes by the administration of New York governor Andrew Cuomo, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the case.

The US attorney's office for the Eastern District of New York has started the new inquiry as an addition to the earlier request for records about coronavirus response in the state-run nursing homes submitted by the US Department of Justice (DOJ) in August 2020. Reportedly, the data was required to determine whether a further official inquiry in the matter would be needed. Currently, with the investigation� still at preliminary stages, no charges have been pressed.

Rich Azzopardi, senior adviser to Gov. Cuomo confirmed that he was cooperating with the DOJ on the matter.

"As we publicly said, DOJ has been looking into this for months. We have been cooperating with them, and we will continue to," Azzopardi was quoted as saying on Wednesday.

Since early February, Republican senators have been pushing for the investigation of the "cover-up" by the Cuomo administration of COVID-19 death toll in state nursing homes and demanded Cuomo's resignation over the alleged human rights violations. Cuomo himself refuted the claims and stated that the authorities of New York State have provided full reports on all COVID-19 deaths in nursing homes. He apologized for the "void" in information provided and noted that the administration did everything in its power to save people's lives.

New York became the epicenter of pandemic during the first wave in spring 2020, with over 700 deaths a day at its peak. As of now, the situation has stabilized, and more than one million New Yorkers have been fully immunized against the virus.