New York Health Commissioner Resigns

New York Health Commissioner Howard Zucker, who oversaw the state’s response to the coronavirus pandemic and faced criticism for sending COVID-19-positive patients back into nursing homes, has resigned from his position.

Gov. Kathy Hochul announced at a press conference on Thursday that Zucker had submitted his resignation but would continue in his role until a replacement could be found. Zucker was a key member of former Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s administration.

On March 25, 2020, Cuomo signed an executive order shielding nursing homes from liability when admitting COVID-19-positive patients. The purpose of the order was to keep hospitals from being overwhelmed when New York became the first U.S. coronavirus epicenter, but Cuomo rescinded it on May 10, 2020.

The order was linked to over 1,000 additional resident deaths, policy government watchdog group the Empire Center for Public Policy reported in February. In March, Zucker was named in a Wall Street Journal report as one of the members of Cuomo’s team who pushed state health officials to alter a July 2020 report on COVID-19 nursing home deaths that led to an undercount in fatalities.

Read more at Washington Examiner.

{Matzav.com}