NEW YORK — An investigation into New York’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic found former Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s “top down” approach of dictating public health policy through his office, rather than coordinating with state and local agencies, sewed confusion during the crisis.
“While this report cuts through the political garbage that has consumed the nursing home issue and points out how circumstances were consistent nationwide, it’s ridiculous to suggest that this pandemic response be treated the same as H1N1 or Legionnaires outbreaks,” the statement said. The report said the state’s existing emergency plans and policies, based on experiences with events like Hurricane Sandy, were immediately disregarded by Cuomo’s preferred “centralized emergency management approach.”