New York governor revealed 12,000 more deaths from COVID-19 that went unreported by his predecessor

Taking another shot at what’s left of Andrew Cuomo’s legacy, the new governor of New York admitted on his first day in office that the state had recorded nearly 12,000 more deaths from COVID-19 than Cuomo had reported to the public.

“The public deserves a clear and honest picture of what is going on. And it’s good or bad, they need to know the truth. And that’s how we restore confidence, “said the governor. Kathy hochul to NPR.

In his first daily update on the epidemic on Tuesday night, The Hochul office reported that nearly 55,400 people have died from the coronavirus in New York City according to data from death certificates submitted to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention..

That’s more than the roughly 43,400 Cuomo reported to the public on Monday., his last day in power. The Democrat who was once widely acclaimed for his leadership during the COVID-19 outbreak has resigned in the face of an impeachment campaign after being accused of sexually harassing at least 11 women., accusations he questioned.

The higher number is not entirely new. Federal health officials and some academic institutions that track COVID-19 deaths in the United States use highest number for many months due to known gaps in data Cuomo chose to release.

But Hochul, who was lieutenant governor before being promoted to the highest office in the state, said he was vital Be completely transparent about the numbers. “There are a lot of things that weren’t happening, and I’m gonna make them happen“Said Wednesday to MSNBC. “Transparency will be the hallmark of my administration.

The agency PA first reported in July on the big gap between figures released by the Cuomo administration and the numbers the state reported to the CDC.

The tally Cuomo used in his briefings and the state’s tracking of COVID-19 deaths included only laboratory-confirmed deaths reported through a state system that collects data from hospitals, nursing homes, and adult care facilities.

It meant the count It excluded people who died at home, in a hospice, in prisons or in public homes for the disabled. It also ruled out people who likely died from COVID-19 but never tested positive to confirm the diagnosis.

“There are presumed and confirmed deaths. People should know both Hochul said. On Wednesday, the state’s website included the highest number.

In the spring of 2020, when New York City was America’s deadliest hotspot, Cuomo has appeared to many Americans as a hero of the pandemic for his daily PowerPoint briefings and harsh but reassuring language.. He won an international Emmy and wrote a book on leadership in times of crisis.

But Cuomo’s critics have long accused him of manipulating coronavirus statistics to polish his image. Months later, it turned out that his administration had downplayed the death toll among nursing home residents by excluding several thousand people who had died after being transferred to hospitals.

Cuomo used those lower numbers last year to falsely claim that New York was seeing a much lower percentage of nursing home residents die from COVID-19 than other states..

Federal prosecutors have investigated the processing of data by his administration. The State Assembly Judiciary Committee also investigated the case.

This week, following the sexual harassment scandal, Cuomo’s Emmy was dismissed. And the publisher of his book has said he will no longer be printing hardcover copies and not releasing a paperback edition.

(With AP information)

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