NYC mayor says Cuomo should 'answer' COVID nursing home allegations

Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo should "answer" for his handling of nursing homes and casualties during the coronavirus pandemic, New York City Mayor Eric Adams declared Monday. 

Adams made the comment when asked by a reporter if he believes "undercounting the number of COVID-related nursing home deaths disqualifies Cuomo for running for mayor." 

"I’ve met with some of the nursing home family members and advocates. There's some things that we want to do with them. But he has to answer that question on the trail," Adams responded. "Should that be an automatic disqualification? No, I think it needs to be answered on the trail, exactly what happened. And I think some of those family members are going to be looking forward to that." 

A report released in March 2022 by the New York state comptroller found Cuomo's Health Department "was not transparent in its reporting of COVID-19 deaths in nursing homes" and it "understated the number of deaths at nursing homes by as much as 50%" during some points of the pandemic. 

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The former governor also was grilled by Republican lawmakers last year about a controversial directive his administration issued in March 2020 that initially barred nursing homes from refusing to accept patients who had tested positive for COVID-19.  

More than 9,000 recovering coronavirus patients were released from hospitals into nursing homes under the directive, which was later rescinded amid speculation that it had accelerated outbreaks. 

A state report later commissioned by Cuomo's successor, Gov. Kathy Hochul, found that while the policies on how nursing homes should handle COVID-19 were "rushed and uncoordinated," they were based on the best understanding of the science at the time. 

Representatives for Cuomo have denied he mishandled nursing homes during the pandemic.

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Cuomo ultimately resigned from office in August 2021 following sexual harassment allegations, which he denies. 

Over the weekend, Cuomo announced his New York City mayoral bid, saying in a video message that "[t]he city just feels threatening, out of control and in crisis." 

When asked about the sexual harassment allegations against Cuomo, Adams said Cuomo also "has to answer that on the campaign trail."

"I believe the women [who] made the allegations, respect what they stated. I believe what they said based on the investigation and he has to answer that on the trail," Adams said. 

Fox News’ Bradford Betz, Maria Paronich and the Associated Press contributed to this report.