After debate about whether it would actually happen- New York State Health Commissioner Dr. Howard Zucker took lawmakers questions on Thursday for more than five hours.
The questions were taken as part of a hearing on Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s administration’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic in nursing homes.
Zucker stood by a report touted in 2020 about the March 25 executive order, which blamed asymptomatic staff for bringing COVID-19 into nursing homes. The state also issued a policy allowing asymptomatic staff to keep working in nursing homes, which was later reversed.
He was grilled on a number of other issues, including the immunity clause granted to nursing homes in the 2020 budget.
They also questioned him on why it took almost a year, an attorney general’s report, and lawsuit to released the true number of COVID-19 deaths in nursing homes.
RELATED: Inside the hearing where Zucker defended the state’s actions (Spectrum News)
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