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WSJ Investigation: Cuomo, De Blasio Pandemic Response Contributed To
New York Death Toll 4 minutes

The government response to the coronavirus led by New York Gov. Andrew
Cuomo and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio reportedly contributed to
the city and state becoming the hardest-hit areas in the U.S.

A Wall Street Journal investigation and review of Cuomo and de Blasio’s
policies, decisions, and statements in the days and weeks leading up to
the pandemic and after the state locked down to slow the virus’ spread
said the men’s actions likely contributed to the state’s high case
number and death toll.

The Wall Street Journal listed a number of shortfalls its investigation
revealed through interviews with healthcare professionals on the front
lines of the crisis and by comparing the state and city’s response to
other governors and mayors. The Journal’s investigation found:

        Improper patient transfers. Some patients were too sick to have
        been transferred between hospitals. Squabbling between the Cuomo
        and de Blasio administrations contributed to an uncoordinated
        effort.  Insufficient isolation protocols. Hospitals often
        mixed infected patients with the uninfected early on, and
        the virus spread to non-Covid-19 units.  Inadequate staff
        planning. Hospitals added hundreds of intensive-care beds but
        not always enough trained staff, leading to improper treatments
        and overlooked patients dying alone.  Mixed messages. State,
        city government and hospital officials kept shifting
        guidelines about when exposed and ill front-line workers
        should return to work.  Overreliance on government sources
        for key equipment. Hospitals turned to the state and federal
        government for hundreds of ventilators, but many were faulty
        or inadequate.  Procurement-planning gaps. While leaders focused
        attention on procuring ventilators, hospitals didn’t always
        provide for adequate supplies of critical resources including
        oxygen, vital-signs monitors and dialysis machines.  Incomplete
        staff-protection policies. Many hospitals provided staff with
        insufficient protective equipment and testing.

Arguably the largest debacle of Cuomo’s pandemic response were his
policies governing long-term care facilities. For nearly two months,
nursing homes were forced to take recovering coronavirus patients from
hospitals that had not yet tested negative for the virus. The policy
likely exacerbated the spread of the virus among New York’s most
vulnerable population, according to experts.

Cuomo eventually rescinded the policy on May 10 but has continued to
deny that he shoulders any share of the blame for the Covid-19 death
toll in his state’s nursing facilities.

“What is justice? Who can we prosecute for those deaths? Nobody,”
Cuomo said during a May 17 press conference. “Nobody. Mother
nature. God. Where did this virus come from? People are going to die
by this virus. That is the truth. Best hospital system on the globe,
I believe we have. Best doctors, best nurses who have responded like
heroes, every medication, ventilators, the health system wants for
nothing. We worked it out so we always had available beds. Nobody was
deprived of a bed or medical coverage in any way.”

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