Did lying Cuomo kill more grannies than we thought: NY admits COVID nursing home deaths 43% higher

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New York Governor Andrew Cuomo's administration has admitted that the number of deaths in the state's nursing homes is 43% higher than previously announced, in a bombshell report just hours after the state's Attorney General said numbers had been undercounted by 50%.

State health commissioner Dr. Howard Zucker released figures Thursday that put the death tally at both nursing homes and hospitals at 12,743 as of January 19 - where previously the official count had been 8,914.

Zucker said provisional data showed 3,829 nursing home residents died from Covid-19 after being sent to hospitals. The number has not been reported by the state until now.

Out of the 8,914 nursing home deaths previously reported, 5,957 were confirmed cases of Covid-19 and with a further 2,957 presumed cases.

The figures came hours after New York Attorney General Letitia James said the state had undercounted nursing home deaths from Covid-19 by 50%, based on information obtained across 62 nursing homes.

But Zucker insists that James was wrong to say that the numbers were undercounted, insisting: 'The New York State Office of the Attorney General report is clear that there was no undercount of the total death toll from this once-in-a-century pandemic.'

The change in nursing home death numbers does not change the total Covid-19 death count for New York state - which now stands at 34,742 - as the hospital deaths were included in the state's overall total.

There are now calls by state Republicans for Zucker's resignation over the fiasco.

Zucker's announcement came after months of officials fending off request for accurate information on nursing home deaths.

State officials continued to deny requests, claiming the data was unreliable.

'The Department of Health has consistently found numerous inaccuracies when examining unverified data, and as a result, months ago DOH began an audit of fatality numbers reported by nursing homes to ensure public release of these statistics were accurate,' Zucker said in a statement on Thursday.

But it does reveal a more intricate picture as to how deadly the virus had been in nursing homes.

In March, an edict from Cuomo meant nursing homes were forced to take positive COVID patients after they were released from hospital.

The order, which was later revoked, saw more than 6,000 COVID positive patients heading back into nursing homes between March and May.

It has been blamed for increasing the death count at nursing homes, which have been devastated by the pandemic.

Until now, the true impact of the virus on such facilities was being grossly underestimated.

Cuomo dodged questions about the revelations on Thursday, and did not schedule a press briefing as he does every other day.

The revelation saw Republican New York Rep. Elise Stefanik demand that James and the U.S. Justice Department subpoena Cuomo's administration for documentation and communications regarding his handling of the pandemic.

The congresswoman said the revelations detailed in the report are indicative of a 'massive corruption and coverup scandal at the highest level of New York State Government, implicating the Governor, Secretary of the Governor, the New York State Health Commissioner, and the Governor's staff.'

'The March edict that the governor put in place forced nursing homes to take positive COVID patients . . . put at risk our most vulnerable constituents in New York State,' Stefanik told Fox News on Thursday night.

'There have been advocates who have lost loved one who have been asking for answers, accountability and transparency and at every turn the governor and his staff have smeared those individuals,' she continued. 'Finally today is a first step towards justice.'

Stefanik also asked for both Democrats and Republicans to issue subpoenas against Cuomo, state health commissioner Dr. Howard Zucker, and his senior staff.

'They knew this number and yet they refused to be transparent with New Yorkers but what was most heartless is they weren't transparent with those who have lost loved ones,' she said.