NY Republicans call for independent investigation into Cuomo's nursing home policy

ALBANY NY (WRGB) - Republicans across the State of New York are speaking out after the release of aState Health Department report on the spread of COVID-19 in nursing homes, and now, many are calling for an independent investigation into what occurred.

Calls for an investigation are nothing new, State Senate Republican Leader John Flanagan called for an investigation into the State's handling of COVID-19 in nursing as far back as May. But it's the release of a new report that's bringing this topic back into the spotlight for many elected officials.

Over 6,000 people have died in New York nursing homes since the start of the pandemic, and many have attributed blame for that number to a controversial order from the Governor's desk enacted on March 25th, whichallowed COVID-19 positive residents to be admitted to nursing homes.

MORE: NYS Republicans call for investigation into State's handling of COVID-19 in nursing homes

A report released by the New York State Department of Health Monday seemed to refute that conclusion, indicating that it was infected staff that led to the rapid circulation of COVID-19 through nursing homes, not the March policy decision.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo's office has consistently stood by the stance that the policy was not a creation of the Governor, shifting the focus to the federal level by indicating that it was a directive from the Trump administration.

"The state followed President Trump's CDC guidance," Governor Cuomo (D-NY) said in a coronavirus briefing on May 20th.

MORE: Report: Infected workers brought COVID-19 into nursing homes, not controversial NY order

Following the release of the report, several republicans have spoken out again it, including Congresswoman Elise Stefanik(R-NY-21st), who called the investigation a "joke," and accused the Governor of shifting the responsibility for the deaths off of himself.

Stefanik called for an independent investigation of the nursing home policy, something Senator James Tedisco (R,C,I-Glenville) proposed back in June.

Tedisco called for a State panel to be created to investigate the policy, which would consist of five members: one each appointed by the Senate Majority Leader, Senate Minority Leader, Assembly Speaker and Assembly Minority Leader, and chaired by an appointee of the New York State Attorney General.

On Tuesday, Tedisco released a statement once again calling for a "fair and unbiased investigation to find out what really happened that led to these tragic deaths.”

MORE: Legislation calls for bi-partisan review of COVID-19 response in NY nursing homes

“If the Governor and Health Commissioner are so confident of the findings in their internal report, then they should be eager for an independent investigation to examine this and welcome the opportunity for more eyes on this issue, right?” Tedisco said in the statement.

The following day, Tedisco released another statement, in which he expressed concern over the delay in a bill number being issued for his proposed State panel.

“In this representative democracy, I can’t expect the Senate to pass or bring a given bill to the floor, but they should always issue a bill number for legislation so measures can be circulated and reviewed by the public, media and my colleagues,” said Senator Tedisco.

Tedisco says the delay is unusual, as it typically takes only 24 hours for the Senate Majority to issue a bill number.

“Is the Majority working in collusion with the Governor and Administration on this as part of some kind of cover-up?” Tedisco pondered in the statement.

Rensselaer County Executive Steve McLaughlin took to Twitter to make his voice heard, in which he accused Governor Cuomo's office of lying about the number of reported deaths in New York nursing homes, in addition to retweeting a tweet with the hashtag #KillerCuomo.

MORE: NY report pushes back on nursing home deaths being linked to admissions policy

McLaughlin recently allowed visitation in a county run nursing home, an act in defiance of the state mandated ban on visitation in nursing homes.

Also joining the call for an independent investigation isAssemblyman Chris Tague (R,C,I,Ref-Schoharie), who released a statement on Tuesday denouncing the State report as a means for the Governor to declare himself innocent.

"Asking for an independent investigation into this tragedy isn’t about politics, it’s about being sure that we can verify what led to this loss of life in an independent and nonpartisan way," Tague said in a statement Tuesday. "The fact of the matter is that thousands of families lost loved ones under the governor’s watch, and they deserve all the answers we can get them as to why this occurred."

ALSO: ONLY ON 6: County allowing visitation at nursing home without approval from NYS

New York State sits just beneath a grand total of 400,000 confirmed coronavirus cases since the beginning of the pandemic.