The Justice Department said today that it's weighing whether to investigate if four Democratic-led states violated nursing home residents' civil rights by admitting Covid-19 patients to the facilities — a policy critics say resulted in thousands of deaths
The Justice Department on Wednesday said it's weighing whether to investigate if four Democratic-led states violated nursing home residents' civil rights by admitting Covid-19 patients to the facilities — a policy critics say resulted in thousands of deaths., which each issued contentious orders to admit patients who had tested positive, as long as they were medically stable, while hospitalizations spiked early in the pandemic.The DOJ request appears focused on state-run nursing homes.
Officials said the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division “seeks to determine if the state orders requiring admission of COVID-19 patients to nursing homes is responsible for the deaths of nursing home residents.”Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Division Eric Dreiband said DOJ must ensure nursing home residents “are adequately cared for with dignity and respect and not unnecessarily put at risk.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer dismissed the DOJ request in a joint statement as a "nakedly partisan deflection," after they said the Trump administration cut back Covid-19 testing to artificially lower the positive case count. They noted at least 14 states, including some Republican-led ones, had similar nursing home orders.
A spokesperson for New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy also said the review was politically motivated, adding the state followed CDC guidance and took numerous actions to protect nursing home residents.
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