Gov. Cuomo: Nursing homes a ‘feeding frenzy’ for COVID-19

OAN Newsroom
UPDATED 4:27 PM PT — Saturday, April 18, 2020

According to New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, the virus is slowing down in the state, but nursing homes remain “a feeding frenzy” for COVID-19. During a recent press briefing, Cuomo reported nursing home residents remain the most vulnerable to the pandemic, due to staff shortages and illnesses.

Around 2,700 nursing home residents have reportedly died in the state, the most out of any state in the U.S.

The governor noted the average daily increase in coronavirus deaths for the state has dropped below 550 for the first time in two weeks.

“The challenge is now bringing this up to scale. We did 500,000 tests in a month, that’s great news. Bad news is it’s only a fraction of what you need. The more you test, the more information, the more you can reopen society.” – Andrew Cuomo, Governor of New York

State health officials have since enacted new policies to protect nursing home residents, including banning visitors and putting new disinfection protocols in place.

Meanwhile, one local nursing home has been accused of under reporting the number of residents who have died. According to new reports, workers at the Sapphire Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing of Central Queens claimed as many as 60 residents have died.

This contradicted a statement from the facility’s executive director, who had announced only 29 residents died between March 1st and April 15th.

State officials have promised to provide information about the death toll and the extent of the virus’s spread inside nursing homes as soon as they’re able to validate the data.

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