A damning attorney general’s report that showed Gov. Andrew Cuomo and other officials downplayed the deadly impact of COVID-19 on New York’s nursing homes finally led the state’s embattled health commissioner on Thursday to reveal the total number of resident fatalities.
In a defensive, nearly 1,700-word statement, Dr. Howard Zucker released figures that put the tally of confirmed and presumed deaths in both nursing homes and hospitals at 12,743 as of Jan. 19.
