New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s administration was ignoring requests from nursing homes for COVID-19 tests at the exact same time members of the governor’s family and close associates were receiving them, the New York Post reported Monday.
The tests were difficult to come by at the time, forcing nursing home administrators to scramble to find tests.
Jack Wheeler, manager of Steuben County, told the Post that in April 2020 he requested tests from the state Department of Health to cover all residents and staff at three facilities in his jurisdiction, but only received enough tests for one.
Wheeler’s efforts were taking place while the governor was securing tests for the likes of his brother, CNN anchor Chris Cuomo, who contracted the disease, and his mother, Matilda, as well as other powerful people connected to the governor’s administration, the Post noted.
“I’m furious because testing of the most vulnerable population should be the absolute priority and a simple request,” Wheeler said. “But [that] high-level, connected people had that luxury when we couldn’t even get people in the nursing homes tested is just infuriating.”
Wheeler was forced to seek help from Steve Acquario, the executive director of the New York State Association of Counties, who drove eight hours in neighboring counties in search of tests for a second facility, and Darlene Smith, Steuben County’s health director, found tests for the third.
“I knew where there might be some extra test kits in counties where they could afford to spare them, so I met them to pick up the kits at various drop-offs,” Acquario said. But after being told “decisions were being made in Albany,” the deal for the third facility fell through, and last-minute scrambling had to be done to meet an April 10 deadline.
“Those nursing homes were raging with positive cases and deaths and the purpose of universal swabbing of both residents and staff was to identify positive cases, isolate the positive staff and … get the positive residents cohorted together to prevent further spread,” said Smith.
“We had to beg, borrow, and steal basically and were able to get test kits from other counties,” she said. “Now knowing [that] what limited supply there was was being hoarded now for friends and family — it’s criminal. It’s just really hard to understand.”
The Albany Times-Union reported on the governor testing family and other connections last week, and his spokesman denied the allegations saying they were “insincere efforts to rewrite the past.”
The DOH said that Wheeler’s account was also an attempt at revisionist history, according to the Post.
“In the absence of any real federal response to the COVID-19 pandemic, New York State stepped forward and from the very beginning did everything we could to protect our most vulnerable population,” said spokesman Jonah Bruno. “Anyone can attempt to rewrite history or rehash out of context conversations a year later, but that doesn’t change the facts.”
The state Assembly has expanded its impeachment probe against the governor to look into allegations he gave preferential treatment to family and friends in administering COVID tests. The main focus of the impeachment probe remains sexual harassment allegations and allegations that Cuomo’s office intentionally underreported virus deaths at nursing homes.
Source: Newmax
