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Democratic senator Jessica Ramos, who represents a district in Queens, called for an investigation into New York governor Andrew Cuomo’s handling of data on coronavirus cases in nursing homes.
In a statement, she said Cuomo “has allowed his ego and donor base to dictate the response to this pandemic.”
Ramos added: “At a time when we need New Yorkers to trust their elected officials more, the governor and his administration knowingly chose to lie and play politics with New Yorkers’ lives.”
She also stated that the news represent “another slap in the face to many New Yorkers who are still mourning the loss of loved ones across our state.”
The Associated Press reported on Thursday that the Cuomo Administration had reported no virus-related deaths in nursing homes to a figure as high as 40 percent.
Melissa deRosa, an aide to the governor, also told state lawmakers, in a closed-door meeting, that the state withheld nursing home data because of concerns about a Justice Department investigation by then-President Donald Trump.
New York Attorney General Letitia James released a report last month claiming she found the health department underreported coronavirus cases in nursing homes by as much as 50%.
As the news broke, Ramos and other Democratic lawmakers in New York called for stripping Cuomo of the emergency powers he got in the early days of the pandemic.
