Empire State Today

Melissa DeRosa, secretary to Gov. Andrew Cuomo, admitted to withholding the state’s nursing home COVID-19 death toll.

DeRosa dropped the bomb during a video conference call with state Democratic lawmakers.

The reason why the Cuomo administration had rejected a legislative request for a full accounting of nursing home deaths last year was that that was “right around the same time [then-President Donald Trump] turns this into a giant political football,” according to an audio recording of the two-hour-plus meeting, The New York Post reported.

“He starts tweeting that we killed everyone in nursing homes,” DeRosa said. “He starts going after [New Jersey Gov. Phil] Murphy, starts going after [California Gov. Gavin] Newsom, starts going after [Michigan Gov.] Gretchen Whitmer,” according to the publication.

Despite making apologies, Assemblyman Ron Kim (D-Queens), who took part in the call, told The Post that DeRosa didn’t sound like she was remorseful.

“Like they admitted that they were trying to dodge having any incriminating evidence that might put the administration or the [Health Department] in further trouble with the Department of Justice,” Kim said.

The most noteworthy revelation came from Attorney General Letitia James when she released a report last month that the estimated total deaths of nursing home residents in hospitals would surge over 50 percent.

“While we cannot bring back the individuals we lost to this crisis, this report seeks to offer transparency that the public deserves and to spur increased action to protect our most vulnerable residents,” James said. “Nursing home residents and workers deserve to live and work in safe environments, and I will continue to work hard to safeguard this basic right during this precarious time.”