The Civil Rights Division of the US Department of Justice will not investigate governors in New York and other states ordering nursing homes to admit coronavirus patients, despite the fact that elderly people are especially vulnerable to the virus.
The Civil Rights Division has "decided not to open a [Civil Rights of Institutional Persons Act] investigation of any public nursing home facility within New York, Pennsylvania, or Michigan at this time" after examining information sent to them by the respective states, Deputy Assistant Attorney General Joe Gaeta wrote, according to Fox News.
However, an investigation by federal prosecutors into NY Governor Andrew Cuomo and his team over their handling of the COVID-19 crisis, including allegations that they had intentionally under-reported COVID-related deaths in nursing homes, will continue, the DOJ added.
Chair of the House Republican Conference, Elise Stefanik, took to Twitter to slam the DOJ's decision:
Earlier this year, the New York Times reported that Cuomo's office had been hiding the true COVID-related death toll in nursing homes for months.