Doctor Who Swabbed Cuomo Describes a Health Department in Shambles
The New York Times
The N.Y. Health Department became a “toxic work environment” early in the pandemic, a high-ranking doctor told officials investigating ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
Long before Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo resigned in August amid a sexual harassment scandal, he was lauded as a hero of the pandemic, whose daily Covid-19 briefings left viewers feeling less isolated during New York’s devastating first wave.
But his pandemic leadership has since come under reappraisal, in large part because of the high death toll among nursing home residents and a slow-burning scandal over whether Mr. Cuomo tried to cover it up. His deal to write a book about his leadership during the pandemic is being investigated by a state ethics panel, and he could be forced to forfeit millions he made from the book.
Now his reputation as an effective governor during a public health emergency is coming under further scrutiny, as recently released testimony from a former high-ranking state health official accuses the governor’s office of repeatedly stymieing and undermining the state’s public health experts in the first year of the pandemic.
