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The DOJ announced this week that it is requesting information from governors of states that issued orders which “may have resulted in the deaths of thousands of elderly nursing home residents.”
Other states being probed are New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Michigan.
In March, before the outbreak peaked and projections were still daunting, Cuomo issued the order to send recovering COVID-19 patients from hospitals into nursing homes to free up beds for potential new COVID patients.
According to the Department of Justice, its Civil Rights Division is "evaluating whether to initiate investigations under the federal 'Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act' (CRIPA), which protects the civil rights of persons in state-run nursing homes, among others.
"The Civil Rights Division seeks to determine if the state orders requiring admission of COVID-19 patients to nursing homes is responsible for the deaths of nursing home residents."
“Protecting the rights of some of society’s most vulnerable members, including elderly nursing home residents, is one of our country’s most important obligations,” Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Division Eric Dreiband said in a statement. “We must ensure they are adequately cared for with dignity and respect and not unnecessarily put at risk.”
Earlier this month, Cuomo announced a book he wrote about the state's response to COVID-19, called "American Crisis," will be published.
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