First day in office, New York governor reveals 12,000 more Covid-19 deaths

New York’s new governor Kathy Hochul delivers another blow to former governor Andrew Cuomo’s legacy

Updated death toll based on CDC data and now includes people who died at their own homes and other places

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New York state has the third highest total number of Covid-19 deaths in the United States, behind California and Texas. Photo: Reuters

Published: 11:39am, 26 Aug 2021Updated: 9:01pm, 26 Aug 2021

New York Governor Kathy Hochul revealed 12,000 more people died of Covid-19 than was reported under her disgraced predecessor, making good on her promise for greater transparency on just her second day leading the state.

The state is now reporting a total of 55,400 people died in New York from coronavirus, based on data from the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, Hochul said in a statement.

That’s an increase of 12,000 over the 43,400 reported by Andrew Cuomo as of his last day in office before resigning in disgrace amid a sexual harassment scandal.

“We’re using CDC numbers, which will be consistent. And so there’s no opportunity for us to mask those numbers,” Hochul told National Public Radio on Wednesday.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul. Photo: AP

Even with the additional 12,000 deaths, it does not change how New York state ranks nationally. New York still has the third highest total number of Covid-19 deaths in the country, behind California and Texas. And New York still ranks second for deaths per capita, behind New Jersey, according to a Reuters tally.

Hochul is a Democrat who assumed the top job on Tuesday after serving as Cuomo’s lieutenant governor.