NYS Attorney General Finds Governor Andrew Cuomo Abused and Harassed Multiple Women. Cuomo Must Resign-and Does, August 10, 2021

 

Dani Lever (right) helped Gov. Andrew Cuomo leak confidential files about a woman who accused
him of sexual harassment, according to the attorney general’s bombshell investigation.

State Assembly Report Finds Cuomo Used State Resources to Enrich Himself

UPDATE: CUOMO RESIGNS AUGUST 10, 2021

Andrew Cuomo joins long list of big New York political scandals

Former NYS Governor Andrew Cuomo

Previously:

Top Cuomo aide DeRosa emerges as enforcer, enabler in AG’s sex harass report

Cuomo top aide Melissa DeRosa resigns as governor faces potential impeachment

NY Governor Andrew Cuomo must resign or be impeached. His brother Chris Cuomo should be fired from CNN. We do not believe that giving Gov. Cuomo "a second chance" or a minute more in office will do anything but create more harm and endanger the lives of many. He must go. Now.

Chris Cuomo of CNN appears in report on Governor Cuomo’s behavior.

REPORT OF INVESTIGATION INTO ALLEGATIONS OF SEXUAL HARASSMENT BY GOVERNOR ANDREW M. CUOMO 

Andrew Cuomo’s utterly disastrous response to the AG report findings

Cuomo violated federal, state laws as he sexually harassed multiple women, NY attorney general says

'A distraction': Democratic chairs in Cayuga, other NY counties want Cuomo to resign

National Public Voice posts previously published on Andrew Cuomo

Betsy Combier
betsy.combier@gmail.com
Editor, Advocatz.com
Editor, NYC Rubber Room Reporter
Editor, Parentadvocates.org
Editor, New York Court Corruption
Editor, National Public Voice
Editor, NYC Public Voice
Editor, Inside 3020-a Teacher Trials

Facebook executive helped Cuomo smear sex-harassment accuser: AG report

Autumn Johnson

August 5th, 2021

Facebook Executive Dani Lever reportedly helped Gov. Andrew Cuomo fight sexual assault allegations by leaking confidential messages about an accuser.

Lever worked on Cuomo’s press team from 2014 to 2020, then leaving to join Facebook as communications manager.

The New York Attorney General’s bombshell report revealed that Rich Azzopardi, Cuomo communications director, sent Lindsey Boylan's confidential personnel files to several journalists in what investigators called an attempt to “discredit and disparage” her. 

The report concluded that Cuomo sexually harassed multiple women in violation of state and federal law and indicated that Lever helped Cuomo’s team disseminate the files.

“Ms. Lever coordinated with some of the reporters who received the documents to let them know that the Executive Chamber would be sending them,” the report reads. 

The report adds that Lever was part of a “team of advisors from within and outside the Chamber [who] had ongoing and regular discussions about how to respond to the allegations publicly,” including Cuomo’s brother, CNN host Chris Cuomo.

“None of them was officially retained in any capacity by the Executive Chamber or any of the individuals involved,” the report notes of Lever, Chris Cuomo, and other outside advisors. “Nonetheless, they were regularly provided with confidential and often privileged information about state operations and helped make decisions that impacted State business and employees — all without any formal role, duty, or obligation to the State.”

“Ms. Lever coordinated with some of the reporters who received the documents to let them know that the Executive Chamber would be sending them,” the report reads. 

The report adds that Lever was part of a “team of advisors from within and outside the Chamber [who] had ongoing and regular discussions about how to respond to the allegations publicly,” including Cuomo’s brother, CNN host Chris Cuomo.

“None of them was officially retained in any capacity by the Executive Chamber or any of the individuals involved,” the report notes of Lever, Chris Cuomo, and other outside advisors. “Nonetheless, they were regularly provided with confidential and often privileged information about state operations and helped make decisions that impacted State business and employees — all without any formal role, duty, or obligation to the State.”

Lever’s name is mentioned 25 times in the report.

Ironically, Lever initially declined to sign on to a letter that included complaints against Boylan as well as her interactions with co-workers. Lever said the letter amounted to “victim shaming,” but later signed a different statement in support of Cuomo that denied Boylan’s allegations.

Cuomo is no stranger to heinous acts, committing seniors who tested positive for COVID-19 to nursing homes, resulting in the deaths of thousands.

Cuomo attorneys push back on Boylan retaliation claims following sex harass report

Former NY State Governor George Pataki Says Gov. Cuomo's Nursing Home Strategy is a 'Disaster'

Gov. Andrew Cuomo (left) and former New York Gov. George Pataki                                           Kevin C. Downs & Annie Wermiel for New York Post

UPDATE:
 On May 11, 2020 the news reports in New York headlined a Cuomo switch where the Governor reversed his nursing home policy - namely, sending residents who have tested positive back to the same place:

See NBC: "We're just not going to send a person who is positive to a nursing home after a hospital visit"

I have posted several articles about the Cuomo nursing home scandal and funeral home tragedy previously (See here, here, here), and now we see this issue is getting political.

Former New York State Governor George Pataki is a Republican. Andrew Cuomo is a Democrat. It is quite possible that supporters of Andrew Cuomo will create a media moment that is based upon partisan interests. This would be a terrible mistake. Political interests need to stay away from the terrible scandals following both Cuomo and his fellow Democrat NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio (see here as well as posts about Bill's wife Chirlane McCray).

Treating the dead as trash is a human tragedy that transcends politics.

Betsy Combier, betsy.combier@gmail.com
Editor, ADVOCATZ.com
Editor, NYC Rubber Room Reporter
Editor, Parentadvocates.org
Editor, New York Court Corruption
Editor, National Public Voice
Editor, NYC Public Voice
Editor, Inside 3020-a Teacher Trials 

Cuomo’s nursing home policies amid coronavirus ‘a disaster,’ says ex-Gov. Pataki

by Carl Campanile, NY POST May 1, 2020

Former Gov. George Pataki slammed Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s nursing home policies during the coronavirus pandemic as a “disaster” that may have unnecessarily caused the deaths of “thousands” of vulnerable elderly residents.

In a rare swipe at his successor Friday night, Pataki called for an independent probe “so this never happens again.”

Pataki said the state Health Department should never have issued an edict requiring nursing homes to accept coronavirus virus patients into nursing home facilities filled with sick, elderly patients — the population most at risk from the killer COVID-19 bug.

Compounding the misguided policy, Pataki said, is that the nursing homes lacked the personal protective equipment or testing capability to isolate and contain the spread of COVID-19.

Pataki also said he was dumbfounded as to why infected patients were sent to nursing homes instead of “hundreds of unused beds” at the two temporary hospitals at the Javits Center and the Navy’s USNS Comfort hospital ship.

“Gov. Cuomo’s handling of the nursing homes has been a disaster,” Pataki, the former-three term governor, told The Post.

“Thousands of people's lives might not have been lost except for these tragic policies.”

Pataki, a Republican who served between 1995 and 2006 said, “Everybody knew that the most vulnerable population was senior citizens. And the most vulnerable senior citizens are in nursing homes.”

Pataki said the nursing homes didn’t have adequate personal protective equipment to protect their existing staff and patients.

“To compound the problem, the state-required nursing homes to admit coronavirus patients. Anyone should have known this would be a problem — to require nursing homes to take in coronavirus patients,” he said.

He also rapped Cuomo for saying “it’s not our job” to provide masks and gowns to nursing homes, though state officials were doing so.

“It is the executive’s job,” Pataki said.

Pataki also said the nursing homes didn’t have or were not provided with the testing needed to determine which patients or staff had the virus.

He also cited a Post report that revealed the state Health Department allowed nurses and other staff who tested positive for the coronavirus to continue treating COVID-19 patients at an upstate nursing home. Following the report, the department said it implemented a new policy restricting COVID-positive staff from returning to work for 14 days.

“Any way you look at it …This is inexcusable. There’s no defense for this,” Pataki said of the policies.

He mentioned Cuomo has become one of the “most popular politicians in America” because of his press briefings on COVID-19.

Still, “it’s not about the appearance but the function of the office,” Pataki said. “The buck stops with the executive office.”

Pataki later went on Fox News and called Cuomo’s policies “incomprehensible” and a “disgrace.”

Cuomo’s senior adviser Rich Azzopardi returned fire, calling Pataki’s attacks a “sad, sad bid for relevancy.”

“It is sad and unfortunate that his star has fallen so much that he’s willing to go on TV and misrepresent the state policy,” which is based on US Centers for Disease Control guidelines, Azzopardi said.

Azzopardi reiterated prior statements from the governor that the nursing homes can only accept coronavirus patients if they have a safe facility with proper staffing and protective equipment.

Cuomo officials also parried widespread complaints of inadequate PPE, saying the state delivered 2 million pieces of protective equipment to nursing homes.

He also said federal policy restricted patients sent to the Comfort hospital.

“George Pataki doesn’t know what he’s talking about. He hasn’t had a clue in 20 years,” Azzopardi said.

Cuomo and Pataki have a complicated relationship.

Pataki defeated former three-term governor Mario Cuomo — Andrew’s dad — to become the state’s chief executive, in 1994.

Andrew Cuomo came under fire during his first bid for governor in 2002 when he said then-Gov. Pataki would just “hold the coat” of former Mayor Rudy Giuliani in terms of leadership following the Sept. 11 attacks. He later abandoned his campaign before the Democratic primary.

But when Cuomo did win the governorship nearly a decade later, he appointed Pataki to serve and co-chair  on a panel that recommended tax cuts. Pataki has generally refrained from second-guessing Cuomo’s actions.

Betsy McCaughey: New York’s Nursing Home Horrors Are Even Worse Than You Think

Andrew Cuomo

In March-April 2020 New Yorkers gave Governor Andrew Cuomo huge acclaim for his daily COVID-19 TV appearances, but this praise did not last.

People in NY State as well as in the rest of the United States are appalled at his policy of sending seniors who tested positive to nursing homes and/or keeping seniors in nursing homes without adequate protections against the virus, only to die.

Reports now say that 26,000 people have died in nursing homes due to the coronavirus.

See:
N.Y. Gov. Andrew Cuomo's careless cruelty shows in coronavirus nursing home policy

Shame of Andrew Cuomo’s blame game: Goodwin

The media, especially the NY POST, documented every bad decision Cuomo made, and then some. Andrew Cuomo's ridiculous on-camera joke-fest with his brother Chris Cuomo fell flat and now only brings the Cuomo brothers well-deserved disgust.

We are with the NY POST on this issue.

They both need to be removed from any public forums, and Andrew should be investigated. He will, hopefully, be sued by relatives of the dead seniors who died because of his nursing home policy (dead=trash)

Betsy Combier, betsy.combier@gmail.com
Editor, ADVOCATZ.com
Editor, NYC Rubber Room Reporter
Editor, Parentadvocates.org
Editor, New York Court Corruption
Editor, National Public Voice
Editor, NYC Public Voice
Editor, Inside 3020-a Teacher Trials 

Gov. Andrew Cuomo's Health Department mandated on March 25 that nursing homes had
to accept coronavirus patients and barred requiring any COVID-19 tests for admission Mike Groll/Office of Governor Andrew Cuomo

New York’s nursing home horrors are even worse than you think
NY POST, May 30, 2020

Patricia Castillo remembers when the Newfane Rehab and Health Care Center, where her mother lived, notified her that a patient had just been admitted from a nearby Niagara County hospital with COVID-19.

Jill Sawyer, whose father lived at the same nursing home, remembers getting notified, too. “It was just a death sentence,” said Sawyer. The virus raced through Newfane, killing Castillo’s mother and Sawyer’s father and 24 other residents.

“My father was only 70 years old,” Sawyer sighs, and he was still “shuffling around and calling me 20 times a day.” Now, she says the phone doesn’t ring and she misses that.

COVID-19 has killed at least 11,000 to 12,000 nursing-home and assisted-living residents in New York, nearly double what the state admits to. And as the deaths mount, so have the lies and cover-ups.

The carnage started in March, when hospitals inundated with COVID-19 patients insisted on clearing out elderly patients, even if they were still infected, and sending them to whatever nursing homes had empty beds. To swing that, they had to get rid of a safety regulation requiring patients to test negative twice for COVID-19 before being placed in a home. The state Health Department willingly complied.

On March 25, Gov. Cuomo’s Health Department mandated that nursing homes had to accept COVID patients and barred requiring any COVID tests for admission. Facilities like Newfane had to fly blind, not knowing which incoming patients had it.

The American Health Care Association called it a “recipe for disaster.” The Committee to Reduce Infection Deaths urged Cuomo to change course.

Instead, New York’s health commissioner, Howard Zucker, began fudging the death statistics, which concealed the consequences: Until late April, New York had reported all nursing-home residents who died from COVID-19, whether they died at the home or after being hospitalized. That’s standard. But as the toll soared, the state quietly shifted to reporting only deaths at the homes. That reduced the number to 6,062 — terrible but only half the truth.

The reality is, at least another 17,000 elder-care patients with COVID-19 were sent to hospitals, and an estimated 5,000 to 7,000 of them have died, with death rates highest for those on ventilators, according to the Journal of the American Medical Association’s mortality rates.

Bottom line: 11,000 to 12,000 nursing-home and assisted-living residents have died from COVID-19, half of all the virus deaths statewide.

The health-care think tank American Commitment also pegs the deaths at 12,000.

That awful death toll didn’t have to happen. It’s six times the number of nursing-home fatalities as in Florida or California, both more populous states.

Cuomo also tried to shift the blame to President Trump, pointing to a Trump administration statement issued on March 13. But the Cuomo administration is twisting it. The statement recommended nursing homes admit patients even if they were coming from a hospital battling COVID-19, not that patients with COVID-19 themselves had to be admitted.

In fact, on March 18, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention cautioned against allowing COVID-19 to invade a nursing home, warning that “it has the potential to result in high attack rates among residents, staff members and visitors.”

Cuomo’s “attempt to deflect blame onto the president sickens me,” says Castillo.

New York stuck with its deadly policy until May 10, way too long. Why? Because it wasn’t a mistake. It was a sell-out.

The hospital industry’s lobbying organization, the Greater New York Hospital Association, is a mega-donor to the state Democratic Party’s housekeeping committee, which helps elect Cuomo. It gave over $1 million in 2018. The hospital industry holds more sway in Albany than real estate or Wall Street.

No wonder Cuomo’s Health Department does the industry’s bidding.

Castillo is pained that her mother had to die alone, “isolated from those who loved her.” She hopes someone will “hold the governor’s feet to the fire.”

At the least, New Yorkers should demand a health department that protects the vulnerable instead of catering to political donors.

Betsy McCaughey is a former lieutenant governor of New York, the chairwoman of the Committee to Reduce Infection Deaths and author of the forthcoming book “The Next Pandemic.”

FILED UNDER 

Bill Hammond: Cuomo's Controlling Instincts

Cuomo’s controlling instincts

In probing corruption and pushing gambling, Cuomo imposes his will

Comments (2)

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

LINK

Governor Andrew Cuomo

Gov. Cuomo takes great pride — largely justified — in having squeezed functionality from New York’s notoriously dysfunctional state government.

His forceful, results-oriented leadership style has achieved impressive results, including three on-time budgets, much-needed spending discipline, the legalization of gay marriage and some of the country’s strongest gun control laws.

But looking too closely at how Cuomo imposes his will on others can sometimes make you queasy.

One case in point: the revelation that the governor has been interfering in the operations of his supposedly independent Moreland Commission to Investigate Public Corruption.

Another: his out-of-line attempts to manipulate this fall’s referendum on casino gambling.

In both cases, Cuomo has let his controlling instincts go too far.

Multiple sources tell the Daily News’ Kenneth Lovett that Cuomo and his staff have quietly pressured his own anti-corruption panel into dropping certain lines of inquiry — including canceling a planned subpoena of the Real Estate Board of New York.

The REBNY query was expected to shed light on an infamous backroom deal that awarded massive tax breaks to five luxury highrises in Manhattan. The board and its members had lobbied hard for the breaks for billionaires while doling out million in contributions to various lawmakers — making it just the sort of situation a serious probe of Albany sleaze should examine.

But among those who potentially stood to be embarrassed was Cuomo himself — who had received a healthy share of the campaign cash and signed the tax breaks into law as part of a larger housing bill.

That being the case, he and his people should have stayed miles away.

Remember that Cuomo had repeatedly threatened to appoint this commission if the Legislature failed to act on certain reforms — a level of political hardball he justified as necessary to force change.

This year, he followed through — appointing the panel in July along with Attorney General Eric Schneiderman.

Back then, Cuomo called it “an independent commission that is free to investigate whatever they feel needs to be investigated on the merits.”

But legislators derided the probe as a political witch hunt, predicting it would be aimed exclusively at them.

Cuomo’s actions have confirmed their fears — and cost the commission a big piece of credibility.

To regain what’s left of the high ground, Cuomo must go back to his original promise of independence — and back off from any further back-channel communication with the commission.

He should also give the panel a fixed, public budget to make clear that its staffers’ salaries are not dependent on his continuing good will.

Members of the commission and their staff must reestablish credibility by cutting off all further contact with the governor’s office — beyond what’s required by law and also made available to the public.

Cuomo’s effort to manipulate commission members is bad enough. His attempt to manipulate the voters into approving a massive expansion of gambling is arguably worse.

Cuomo is pushing for November passage of a constitutional amendment authorizing up to seven casinos — in the dubious belief that they will boost the upstate economy rather than simply drain the pockets of gamblers.

First, he silenced the potential opposition by cutting deals with upstate Indian tribes.

Then, he passed a law declaring that the state would add thousands more video-lottery parlors — which are casinos by another name — if the amendment is defeated. His message to the voters: I’m going to expand gambling no matter how you vote.

Last but not least, he prevailed on the Board of Elections to approve wording for the ballot proposal that declares the casinos will be all about “promoting job growth, increasing aid to schools and permitting local governments to lower property taxes.”

The board somehow neglected to mention lining the pockets of casino owners and impoverishing compulsive gamblers.

The early signs are that this Cuomoesque manipulation could work.

When Siena pollsters asked voters a straight question about Las Vegas-style casinos, they were split down the middle, 49% to 49%.

But when pollsters read the slanted ballot language, 55% said yes and 42% said no.

Sure, the governor may win both of these fights — but what will he lose in the process?

whammond@nydailynews.com

Assistant To Andrew Cuomo Files A Criminal Complaint Against Him Over Alleged Groping Incident

 

Governor's mansion in Albany

While allegedly harassing women, Cuomo also abused state resources

Alphonso David claims he was unaware of Gov. Andrew Cuomo's sexual misconduct behavior as his counsel from 2015 to 2019.[photo: Hans Pennink] 

‘Lizard People … Your Time Is Up’: After Cuomo Report, McGowan Blasts Biden, Milano, Time’s Up Movement

Assistant To Cuomo Files Criminal Complaint Over Alleged Groping Incident In Governor's Mansion

BY JAKE OFFENHARTZ

AUG. 6, 2021 11:42 A.M.

 • 47 COMMENTS

An assistant to Governor Andrew Cuomo who accused him of groping her inside the Executive Mansion has filed a complaint with the Albany County Sheriff, raising the possibility of criminal charges for the embattled governor.

The executive assistant told investigators for the New York Attorney General that Cuomo repeatedly harassed her, culminating in an incident in which the governor reached under her blouse and grabbed her breast in November of last year.

The woman, who is still employed by the state, filed a criminal complaint about the alleged sexual assault on Thursday afternoon, according to a spokesperson for the Sheriff’s Office. It comes two days after the Attorney General's report detailed a pattern of sexual misconduct by Cuomo, and is believed to be the first criminal complaint brought by one of the governor's alleged victims.

Following the release of the report, five prosecutors in New York — in Manhattan, Nassau County, Westchester, Oswego, and Albany — have indicated that they are looking into potential unlawful behavior by the governor.

Albany County Sheriff Craig Apple told the Post, which first reported the story, that it's possible Cuomo could face arrest. “The end result could either be it sounds substantiated and an arrest is made and it would be up to the DA to prosecute the arrest,” he said. “Just because of who it is we are not going to rush it or delay it.”

The governor has denied touching any woman inappropriately and has said that he would welcome legal action from the executive assistant. Rich Azzopardi, a spokesperson for Cuomo, said that the Governor’s Office “proactively” referred the alleged groping incident to authorities nearly four months ago, “in accordance with state policies.”

In her testimony to investigators, the executive assistant alleged that Cuomo repeatedly grabbed her butt during hugs and kissed her on the lips on at least one occasion. Last November, she said, Cuomo pulled her in for a close hug, then cupped her breast.

“I knew what just went on,” she testified. “I knew and he knew too that that was wrong. And that I, in no way, shape or form, invited that nor did I ask for it.”

She said she did not report the incident to her supervisors for fear that she would face retaliation — and had planned to take it “to the grave,” until hearing Cuomo claim at a press conference that he had never touched anyone inappropriately.

Investigators said that the woman's account was credible, while Cuomo's "denials lacked persuasiveness."

A lawyer for the woman could not be reached for comment.

A previous version of this story referred to the woman as a former executive assistant. She remains employed by the state, according to the Attorney General, though it's unclear in what capacity.

New York State Outrage: Governor Andrew Cuomo Did Not Know His State's Nursing Home Policy

A rising star has fallen. New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo, whose daily news briefing on the coronavirus has made him popular with people of all persuasions in New York State as well as elsewhere, will never live down his ridiculously stupid comments made April 20, 2020 about COVID-19 and nursing homes.

When asked whether elderly patients are brought back to their nursing home residences after being tested positive for the virus, Gov. Cuomo said to all media "I don't know" (See video)

This statement comes just a few days after the New York Post published a report on the huge number of nursing homes filled with infected and dead people:

Coronavirus has ravaged NYC nursing homes at a startling rate

NY POST, April 17, 2020

New York State Health Commissioner Howard Zucker

It seems that Cuomo did not look into this disaster. And his Health Commissioner Howard Zucker didn't either, as you can see from his comment in the same news briefing.
This is truly outrageous. Howard Zucker should be fired immediately, and Andrew - well, it did not take long for your true colors to show, did it?.

Chris Cuomo

I live in New York City, and I am just tired of the Cuomo brothers, Governor Andrew and CNN on-air comic Chris. Both men need to change jobs to positions that they can handle.
See Chris Cuomo's latest antics:

Chris Cuomo Had A Major Existential Crisis — But He’s All Good Now

The viral video of Chris Cuomo going berserk over being called “Fredo,” explained

Chris Cuomo described as a ‘cry baby’ and an ‘a–hole’ on the basketball court
Now we know why New York State was not prepared for the pandemic. What we don't know is exactly what the facts are about almost anything that happens in our government. Secrecy and lies reign.

Betsy Combier
Editor

Betsy Combier, betsy.combier@gmail.com
Editor, ADVOCATZ.com
Editor, NYC Rubber Room Reporter
Editor, Parentadvocates.org
Editor, New York Court Corruption
Editor, National Public Voice
Editor, NYC Public Voice
Editor, Inside 3020-a Teacher Trials 

A man with a mask walks past a sign advertising the Sapphire Center nursing home in NY, after reports of a number of deaths there came to light

Coronavirus patients are being readmitted to nursing homes in New York after testing positive despite risks of spreading infection – and Governor Cuomo didn’t know

by RORY BUTLER FOR MAILONLINE

PUBLISHED: 04:36 EDT, 21 April 2020 | UPDATED: 07:40 EDT, 21 April 2020

• Governor Cuomo said, 'That's a good question, I don't know,' when questioned 
• New York health commissioner Howard Zucker appeared to defend the policy 
• 'Either he's lying or they have absolutely no idea what's going on on the ground' 
• Learn more about how to help people impacted by COVID

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo revealed he was unaware of a state policy that permits nursing home residents to be readmitted to their institutions, even after testing positive for coronavirus.  

Governor Cuomo said, 'That's a good question, I don't know,' when asked about New York state's policy on admitting or readmitting people to nursing homes who had tested positive for the virus.

The question was redirected to New York health commissioner Howard Zucker who appeared to defend the policy, saying positive-testing people 'should be admitted back'.

The startling revelation comes after the state disclosed last week at least 3,316 people in nursing and adult care facilities died with the virus while at their residences or in hospital. 

Ron Kim

Assemblyman Ron Kim, representative of the 40th District, Queens, said nursing home workers and their residents lacked adequate protective equipment, including masks, when the pandemic hit. 

US authorities have mandated nursing homes inform residents, their families and the federal government about cases of the virus. Under the policy, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will collate the information. 

Governor Cuomo was probed about New York state's attitude to allowing those who had tested positive for coronavirus to enter or re-enter nursing homes, during a daily press briefing, in Albany, on Monday. 

He appeared unsure in repeating the question back to the reporter: 'If you are tested positive for the virus, are you allowed to be admitted to a nursing home, is the question?'

'Or readmitted,' the reporter said.

'Or readmitted? That's a good question, I don't know,' replied Governor Cuomo.

He turned to New York health commissioner Howard Zucker for clarification, who said: 'I think the policy is that if you are positive, you should be admitted back to a nursing home.'

'The necessary precautions will be taken to protect the other residents there,' Zucker said while clearing his throat. 

Neither men seemed 100% certain of the policy.

This came after the New York Health Department revealed on Friday a troubling tally of elderly people dying in a number of facilities across the state. 

It estimated some 3,316 people in nursing homes had died of COVID-19, with 2,056 deaths in New York City.

A Cobble Hill resident prepped for hospital, about to be loaded into an ambulance
by medical staff

However, experts have suggested the tally is 'likely an undercount,' according to the New York Post. 

Statistics out on Monday raised that figure to 3,448 as of Sunday, with 2,105 in the city.

Cobble Hill Health Center in Brownstone Brooklyn revealed 55 patients died during the pandemic — the highest toll in New York state. 

In The Bronx, 45 people passed at the Kings Harbor Multicare Center.

Another 44 died at both the Franklin Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing in Queens and the Carmel Richmond facility on Staten Island, according to the NY Post report. 

Records also show 40 people at the Holliswood Center for Rehabilitation, in Queens, have died. 

And 35 perished at the Plaza Rehab and Nursing Center in The Bronx, while 34 passed at the Bensonhurst Center for Rehabilitation, in Brooklyn, the report also says. 

The partial report only includes 72 homes across New York state that reported more than five fatalities. Of those, 42 reported at least 10 dead. 

There are over 600 nursing homes in the state of New York.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo revealed he was unaware of a state policy that permits nursing home residents to be readmitted to their institutions, even after testing positive for coronavirus.  

Governor Cuomo said, 'That's a good question, I don't know,' when asked about New York state's policy on admitting or readmitting people to nursing homes who had tested positive for the virus.

The question was redirected to New York health commissioner Howard Zucker who appeared to defend the policy, saying positive-testing people 'should be admitted back'.

The startling revelation comes after the state disclosed last week at least 3,316 people in nursing and adult care facilities died with the virus while at their residences or in hospital. 

Assemblyman Ron Kim, representative of the 40th District, Queens, said nursing home workers and their residents lacked adequate protective equipment, including masks, when the pandemic hit. 

US authorities have mandated nursing homes inform residents, their families and the federal government about cases of the virus. Under the policy, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will collate the information. 

Governor Cuomo was probed about New York state's attitude to allowing those who had tested positive for coronavirus to enter or re-enter nursing homes, during a daily press briefing, in Albany, on Monday. 

He appeared unsure in repeating the question back to the reporter: 'If you are tested positive for the virus, are you allowed to be admitted to a nursing home, is the question?'

'Or readmitted,' the reporter said.

'Or readmitted? That's a good question, I don't know,' replied Governor Cuomo.

He turned to New York health commissioner Howard Zucker for clarification, who said: 'I think the policy is that if you are positive, you should be admitted back to a nursing home.'

'The necessary precautions will be taken to protect the other residents there,' Zucker said while clearing his throat. 

Neither men seemed 100% certain of the policy.