Analysis revealed that 3,000 more Covid deaths may have occurred in Michigan's care homes that has been officially reported by the state
In New York, lawmaker claims he was asked by Speaker to 'walk back' a statement he made about Cuomo's cover-up of the care home crisis
Whitmer and Cuomo under scrutiny since Trump said they 'issued COVID-19 orders that may have resulted in deaths of elderly nursing home residents'
America's coronavirus nursing home crisis deepened today amid claims that Michigan's death toll could be double the official figure and that Andrew Cuomo used the Speaker to help hide New York's cover-up.
Cuomo and Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer have been under intense scrutiny since August when Trump said they 'issued COVID-19 orders that may have resulted in deaths of elderly nursing home residents.
New York has now acknowledged that at least 15,000 long-term care residents died, compared to a figure of 8,700 it reported as late as January - though the extent of the cover-up continues to unravel.
Now it appears that Michigan may have similarly under-counted its care home death toll.
The health department has recorded more than 19,000 Covid-19 deaths, of which at least 5,600 were in care homes.
But the department relies on an 'honor system' where care homes self-report their coronavirus fatalities.
Another 6,945 Covid-19 deaths are classified vaguely as 'vital records reviews' – these are totted up by health officials going through death certificates.
'This is where the problem begins,' according to Charlie LeDuff for Deadline Detroit.
In a sample selection of 1,468 vital records from March to June 2020, 648 Covid deaths were traced back to nursing homes – that's 44 percent.
'Apply 44 percent to the nearly 7,000 vital records and there may be another 3,000 deaths of the institutionalized elderly unaccounted for,' LeDuff writes.