New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo's demand for an investigation into a high school student who was linked to a coronavirus outbreak by attending a graduation ceremony after visiting Florida is "hypocritical," given his record concerning the deaths of thousands of nursing home patients in his state, Rep. Elise Stefanik said Monday.
"The governor refuses to be held accountable for the thousands and thousands of seniors who lost their lives because of the failed and fatal nursing home policies," the New York Republican said on Fox News' "Fox & Friends." “Of course, we need to contact trace individuals that attended that high school graduation ceremony, but it really is hypocritical that the governor is pointing fingers at this high school student.”
Cuomo's policy of sending COVID-19 patients to nursing homes where they could not be isolated, meanwhile, did not follow federal guidance from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, said Stefanik.
“Federal guidance from CMS was very clear that a nursing home should only accept a positive COVID patient if they were able to isolate them and if they had adequate PPE and testing," she said. "New York State has not been transparent, and family members of seniors who lost their lives have not gotten answers but most importantly were not even made aware when there were positive COVID cases in these senior living facilities.”
Meanwhile, Cuomo has blamed President Donald Trump, healthcare workers, senior citizens, and Republicans for the nursing home deaths, when families deserve accountability and answers from him, said Stefanik.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
© 2024 Newsmax. All rights reserved.