AP: More than 9k COVID-19 patients were released to nursing homes

AP: More than 9k COVID-19 patients were released to nursing homes

FILE - In this Sunday, Oct. 18, 2020 file photo, families of COVID-19 victims who passed away in New York nursing homes gather in front of the Cobble Hill Heath Center in the Brooklyn borough of New York, to demand New York State Gov. Andrew Cuomo's apologize for his response to clusters in nursing homes during the pandemic. More than 9,000 recovering coronavirus patients in New York state were released from hospitals into nursing homes at the height of the pandemic under a controversial order that was scrapped amid criticisms it accelerated outbreaks, according to new records obtained by The Associated Press. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

NEW YORK (AP) — More than 9,000 recovering coronavirus patients in New York state were released from hospitals into nursing homes under a controversial directive that was scrapped amid criticism it was accelerating outbreaks. That’s according to new records obtained by The Associated Press. The new number of over 9,000 recovering patients sent to hundreds of nursing homes is more than 40% higher than what had been previously released by the state health department. And it raises new questions as to whether Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s March 25 directive helped spread sickness and death among residents. That’s a charge his administration disputes.

 

Photo: FILE – In this Sunday, Oct. 18, 2020 file photo, families of COVID-19 victims who passed away in New York nursing homes gather in front of the Cobble Hill Heath Center in the Brooklyn, to demand New York State Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s apologize for his response to clusters in nursing homes during the pandemic. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)