Cuomo Testifies Before House COVID Panel

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Facts

  • Former New York Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo testified Tuesday before the US House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic, particularly related to his governance during the pandemic and his state's nursing home policies at the time.[1]
  • This comes a day after the committee released a report quoting him from March 10, 2020, saying COVID in nursing homes would be a 'nightmare,' 15 days after which he issued an order allowing 're-admission or admission' into nursing homes for those with the virus.[2]
  • While the order was meant to prevent overcrowding of hospitals, it resulted in releasing over 9K patients into long-term care facilities and approximately 15K dying from COVID in nursing homes.[3]
  • Cuomo admitted an email from one of his aides about the death count, calling it 'the great debacle,' was sent on his behalf.[4]
  • Cuomo also blamed the Trump White House and accused Republicans of using 'lies and deceptions' in response to the committee's accusations that he and his staff omitted thousands of COVID deaths in July 2020.[1]
  • In addition, Cuomo told the victims he was 'sorry' for their loss and 'this country should have done better,' and also called out the Trump administration for denying COVID 'for months,' claiming that it 'failed to supply the states with critical medical equipment.'[5][6]

Sources: [1]New York Post (a), [2]CBS, [3]Associated Press, [4]New York Post (b), [5]Timesunion and [6]CNN.

Narratives

  • Republican narrative, as provided by New York Post. Cuomo's deadly COVID policies are finally being brought to light. Thanks to House Republicans, Americans know that the former governor's policies contributed to the fatalities of elderly New Yorkers and also generated misleading data. Trump had nothing to do with Cuomo's decision to put sick patients inside nursing homes.
  • Democratic narrative, as provided by The Daily Beast. This is an election-year political attack by the House, which should be spending its time legislating instead of grandstanding in front of Democratic governors. Trump's failure to acknowledge the arrival of the pandemic and supply the nation with proper medical care was a major reason at least 1.2M Americans died from COVID.

Predictions