After taking office, Kathy Hochul announced that in New York there were 12,000 more deaths from covid

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul’s administration has revealed that in the state there are 12,000 more deaths from covid than figures reported by the previous leadership of resigning Andrew Cuomo.

To arrive at this figure, Hochul included in the state tally, figures from the federal authorities of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which record nearly 12,000 additional deaths than state institutions.

The New York Department of Health website, which has so far collected the figure of 43,415 deaths, has also included the CDC data, so it now reflects a total of 55,395 dead since the start of the pandemic.

The change came barely 24 hours after the governor took office to replace Andrew Cuomo, who resigned under the pressure of a dozen sexual harassment charges and while under investigation for its management of retirement homes during the hardest moments of the pandemic.

Deaths in retirement homes

The health ministry says the state figure collects confirmed data of daily deaths according to information provided by hospitals, retirement homes and care centers to people in need.

Regarding the CDC figure, it is stated that it includes people who died in these centers and in any other place such as homes or shelters for the homeless.

“We are releasing more data than the public has reached so people know that deaths in nursing homes and hospitals are consistent with numbers released by the CDC,” Hochul said on MSNBC Wednesday. “There are a lot of things that didn’t happen. And I’m going to get there. Transparency will be the motto of my government. ”

The Associated Press was the first to report in July the discrepancy between the death figures released by the Cuomo administration and those it sent to the CDC.

Among other causes, Cuomo faces legislative inquiry if he misled the public on COVID-19 deaths in nursing homes to protect their image.

The tally Cuomo presented at his press conferences only included deaths from COVID-19 confirmed laboratory through a public system that collects data from hospitals, nursing homes and facilities serving the elderly.

This means that the count excluded deaths in homes, hospices, state prisons, or state homes for people with disabilities. He also ruled out people who likely died from COVID-19, but without the diagnosis being confirmed for a positive test.

The lowest figure preferred by the Cuomo government appeared in Tuesday’s daily report, but with an explanation from Hochul’s office that he was an incomplete report.

“There are suspected and confirmed deaths. People should know about both,” Hochul said in an interview with NPR on Wednesday.

In the spring of 2020, New York became the main focus of the disease.

In his first speech after taking office, Hochul promised to introduce a transparency policy in the new administration that he will lead, at least, until the end of his mandate, which ends in December 2022.

AP and EFE

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