Governor Andrew Cuomo was hit by his government handling nursing homes amid a coronavirus pandemic, according to a new poll released Wednesday.
The number of New Yorkers who approved of Cuomo’s job performance fell from a record 71 percent last month to only 63 percent – with the majority disagreeing about how he deals with elderly care facilities, a Siena College survey across the state found.
“When it comes to addressing the needs of nursing homes, only 44 percent gave him a positive value, compared to plurality, 48 percent, who rated him negatively,” said Siena polling Steven Greenberg.
The widely condemned health department’s mandate issued on March 25 required all nursing homes to receive residents who tested positive for the corona virus.
Cuomo has twice blamed federal guidelines for controversial directives. And he doesn’t seem to regret that mandate, even with around 5,800 confirmed or suspected deaths of COVID-19 now being reported in nursing homes.
The state partially withdrew its policy earlier this month, saying the hospital could not send COVID-positive people back home, and also ordered all staff to be tested twice a week.
However, a flood of state lawmakers, in turn, called for an independent investigation into what role the March 25 directives played in the nursing home of hell that claimed lives.
However, around 54 percent of Democrats see Cuomo’s handling of nursing homes positively, while 55 percent of Republicans and 61 percent of independent candidates give him a negative rating, according to the poll.
“Voters 55 and older are divided in two, with 49 percent positive and 46 percent negative,” Greenberg said.
Overall, 76 percent of respondents agreed to the handling of the Cuomo pandemic, down from 84 percent in April.
“The Cuomo stratosphere ranking of New Yorkers in April has fallen from their highest record but remains very strong because two-thirds of voters still view it well,” Greenberg said.
