New York City Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) allegedly offered relative including CNN anchor Chris Cuomo “special access” to state-administered COVID-19 tests in early 2020, the Washington Post initially reported Wednesday.
Why it matters: State officials are barred from utilizing their positions to get benefits for themselves or others under New York’s constitution Cuomo’s office pushed back on the allegations in an emailed statement, with senior advisor Rich Azzopard saying, “We need to prevent insincere efforts to reword the past.”
- It’s declared “high-ranking state health authorities” conducted the tests at a time when “the seriousness of the virus was still becoming clear to the wider public and testing was not commonly readily available to the majority of people,” per the New York City Times
- It’s the latest in a raft of claims versus the beleaguered guv, who’s likewise facing investigations over sexual misconduct allegations and his handling of COVID-19 assisted living home deaths
For the record: Cuomo denies the earlier claims and has rejected calls from senior Democrats and others to resign.
Newest accusations: Chris Cuomo, who tested favorable for the coronavirus last March, apparently “taken advantage of the priority testing program,” according to WashPost, pointing out people with understanding of the matter.
- The CNN anchor “was swabbed by a leading New York Department of Health physician, who visited his Hamptons house to gather samples from him and his family,” the Post reported.
- ” The very same medical professional, Eleanor Adams, now a leading adviser to the state health commissioner, also was employed to test multiple other Cuomo family members, according to 2 individuals knowledgeable about the program,” according to the Post.
- Pointing out two people, WashPost reported state cops cannon fodders helped hurry the test to an Albany state public health lab and some laboratory personnel worked well past their shift that night “to process outcomes of those near to Cuomo” before silently returning the outcomes to the relative.
What they’re stating: CNN representative Matt Dornic stated in an emailed declaration, “We normally do not get associated with the medical choices of our workers.
- ” However, it is not surprising that in the earliest days of a once-in-a-century international pandemic, when Chris was revealing symptoms and was worried about possible spread, he relied on anyone he might for recommendations and support, as any human being would.”
Cuomo’s workplace did not address the specific allegations directly. But Azzopardi said the Cuomo administration went “above and beyond to get individuals checking” in the early days of the pandemic.
- Azzopardi stated this consisted of “in some circumstances going to people’s houses, and door to door … to take samples from those believed to have been exposed to COVID in order to identify cases and prevent additional one.”
- ” Among those we assisted were members of the general public, consisting of legislators, reporters, state workers and their families who feared they had actually contracted the infection and had the capability to additional spread it,” Azzopardi stated.
- There was “a heavy focus on contact tracing,” according to Azzopardi.
N.Y. State Department of Health spokesperson Gary Holmes stated in an emailed statement, “You’re asking specialists who took an oath to secure a patient’s privacy to violate that oath and jeopardize their integrity.
” More than 43 million New Yorkers have been tested, and discussing any of them would be a serious offense of medical ethics. We’ve developed a nation-leading screening facilities to ensure that any person who requires a test might get one. That work continues today.”
Editor’s note: This short article has actually been upgraded with CNN’s remark.
Go deeper: Biden states Cuomo needs to resign if allegations are true
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