Justice Department Requests Data from Gov Cuomo on Admittance of COVID-19 Patients into Nursing Homes

The Department of Justice requested COVID-19 data from New York State because of issued orders that may have resulted in thousands of elderly people's deaths.

New York admitted patients into nursing homes without being tested, comprising the health of others.

On March 25, New York ordered: "No resident shall be denied readmission or admission to a nursing home solely based on a confirmed or suspected diagnosis of COVID-19. Nursing homes are prohibited from requiring a hospitalized resident who is determined medically stable to be tested for COVID-19 prior to admission or readmission." 

According to the CDC, New York has the highest number of Coronavirus related deaths in the United States, 32,592, many of them being elderly.

The Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division is considering starting an investigation under the federal "Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act," which protects people's civil rights, to determine whether the state is responsible for nursing home deaths.

(Kevin P. Coughlin / Office of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo)