NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK — A damning new report has criticized former Gov. Andrew Cuomo for his handling of New York’s response to COVID-19, accusing him of neglecting the state’s ability to micromanage the pandemic from the executive office.
The 262-page report by consultancy The Olson Group shows a number of significant missteps believed to have exacerbated the state’s crisis in the early stages of the pandemic.
He criticizes Cuomo for ignoring protocols put in place by the Health Department designed to combat the virus.
“The state had plans but didn’t follow through on them because the executive chamber wanted to do what it wanted,” said one official interviewed by the authors. “If the state had used the available and written plans, then, yes, it would have put the appropriate plans in place. But instead, we get stuck with all those decrees. “
The Olson Group’s investigation found that Cuomo’s management had abandoned preparedness plans that designated the state’s fitness branch to lead the response. Instead, Cuomo assumed direct control, leading to confusion and inefficiency.
The report states, “Structures evolved through hard-won experience in events such as 9/11 and Hurricane Sandy have been largely ignored, and the state’s chief executive’s office has served as the focal point of the response. “
A notable example of Cuomo’s alleged mismanagement was his resolve to the Health Department’s plan to establish networks of vaccination sites. Instead, Cuomo ordered “central hospitals” to administer the vaccines, despite their lack of capacity to do so effectively. This has compromised the state’s vaccination efforts, contributing to delays and logistical issues.
The additional report states, “While the decisive moves were widely praised in the early stages of the pandemic, their inability to fully integrate established state establishments into the coordination of the ongoing reaction operation led to unnecessary confusion at a time when New Yorkers needed clarity. “
The Cuomo administration’s handling of nursing home deaths has also come under serious criticism. The report called the state’s reporting a “lack of transparency,” echoing one of the biggest controversies surrounding Cuomo’s pandemic.
“The state did not give the appearance of irregularity similar to how it reported COVID-19 deaths in nursing homes until the public was already upset, after noticing and reporting the discrepancies,” the report says.
While the report doesn’t explicitly link Cuomo’s strategy to a surge in cases or deaths, it does point to the grim death toll at the Empire State Building of 77,000 during the pandemic. The report also highlights the broader effect of Cuomo’s decisions, noting that the pandemic has battered the state’s education and fitness systems and crippled the business and retail sectors.
Cuomo’s spokesman, Rich Azzopardi, defended the former governor, saying Cuomo “brought the unified strength of government” to the crisis.
“His press conferences were recognized around the world for offering facts amid a chaotic national lack of reaction to this pandemic that has claimed the lives of 1. 2 million Americans,” Azzopardi said.
“Even if this report removes the politics that surrounded the nursing home factor and highlights how consistent the cases were on a national scale, it is ridiculous to recommend that this reaction to the pandemic be treated in the same way as H1N1 or Legionnaires’ epidemics,” he insisted.
“The fact is in the numbers,” he added. In 2020, New York ranked 39th in terms of prorated nursing home deaths, according to federal statistics, and we went from second place in the highest number of deaths because New York hit first and hardest, to 30th place. “
The release of the report, which charges $4. 3 million, follows Cuomo’s testimony before the House Select Subcommittee on the coronavirus pandemic. The Republican majority on the panel accused Cuomo of deflecting his duty from policies that led to the transfer of patients with health problems to senior care facilities. amenities in 2020.
The report stresses that this controversy refers to a “broader issue of mistrust” in the control of the pandemic.
Ken Girardin, director of studies at the Empire Center for Public Policy, dismissed the Olson report as “little more than a major school assignment” on the state’s COVID crisis.
“The biggest charge against the state government has been the theft of the unemployment system,” Girardin said. “There appears to have been no research on New York State DOI and precautionary symptoms. “
Gov. Kathy Hochul, when asked about the report, said she wanted to be prepared for the pandemic. “We knew things had to be done differently, they had to be done better, and we had to prepare for the option of that happening again. “Hochul said.
He pointed to increased investment for the state’s Office of Emergency Management and a $1. 7 billion investment in a new think tank as steps taken to better equip the state for long-term crises, the New York Post reported.
After the report’s release, social media is ablaze with complaints against Cuomo.
“Isn’t it ironic that you have an e-book touting your handling of COVID?” one posted in X.
“It’s funny, he presented himself in a style when he was in power,” said another.
“He mismanaged crime,” he proposed more.
“I’m surprised,” reads one comment.
“What will become of him? Nothing, of course,” complains another.
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