Cuomo under pressure after officials altered New York nursing home death toll

Andrew Cuomo (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, Pool)

New York governor Andrew Cuomo’s health department has confirmed members of his Covid-19 taskforce altered a state Health Department report to omit the full number of nursing home patients killed by coronavirus, but insisted the changes were made because of concerns about the data’s accuracy.

The Wall Street Journal and the New York Times, citing documents and sources, reported that aides including secretary to the governor Melissa DeRosa pushed state health officials to edit the July report so only residents who died inside long-term care facilities, and not those who became ill there and later died at a hospital, were counted.