New York State not only undercounted the number of nursing home residents who died from COVID-19, it also underreported the number of sick patients who were forced back into nursing homes because of a state mandate, according to the Associated Press.

That state order said nursing homes and long-term care facilities could not refuse to take patients because they had COVID-19. The late-March mandate resulted in more than 9,000 virus-carrying patients being admitted to such facilities, not the 6,300 previously reported by the state after it reversed course on the policy, a difference of more than 40%. That's because another 2,729 instances were uncovered by the AP on Thursday when the NYS Department of Health replied to the outlets FOIL request, the AP reported.

The trouble is mounting as it appears this was another intentional effort by Cuomo's administration to distort information regarding COVID-19 and nursing homes - done to fend off criticism.

Last month, New York Attorney General Letitia James found the state under reported the number of nursing home related deaths during the pandemic by as much as 50%, changing the number of deaths from those facilities from 8,500 to 15,000.

Also Thursday, the New York Post reported that a top aide to Cuomo admitted and apologized to fellow Democrats for withholding information for fear of a federal investigation:

“And basically, we froze,” she told the lawmakers on the call.

“Because then we were in a position where we weren’t sure if what we were going to give to the Department of Justice, or what we give to you guys, what we start saying, was going to be used against us while we weren’t sure if there was going to be an investigation.”

DeRosa added: “That played a very large role into this.”

....

“So we do apologize,” she said. “I do understand the position that you were put in. I know that it is not fair. It was not our intention to put you in that political position with the Republicans.”

Those comments were attributed to Melissa DeRosa, secretary to the governor, and came during a video conference call, the Post reported.

Earlier this month, the New York Times highlighted the exit of nine top state health officials, and wrote: ...''Mr. Cuomo has all but declared war on his own public health bureaucracy.''

The report included a quote from the governor at a January 29, 2021 public briefing were he said:

“When I say ‘experts’ in air quotes, it sounds like I’m saying I don’t really trust the experts,” Mr. Cuomo said at a news conference on Friday, referring to scientific expertise at all levels of government during the pandemic. “Because I don’t. Because I don’t.”

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