Johnson Newspaper Corp., and the Enterprise staff
Letitia James speaks to the Watertown Daily Times editorial board.
(Enterprise photo â Sydney Schaefer, Watertown Daily Times)
ALBANY — New York’s total COVID-19 deaths in nursing homes are about 42% more than what the state Department of Health previously published, according to a report from the state attorney general’s office released Thursday morning. The DOH confirmed the higher numbers that afternoon, releasing for the first time the number of presumed long-term care coronavirus fatalities.
According to state Health Department Commissioner Dr. Howard Zucker, department data audited to date shows 12,743 total skilled nursing facility resident fatalities, including 9,786 confirmed deaths from COVID-19 complications — 5,957 fatalities within nursing facilities and 3,829 in hospitals — and 2,957 presumed virus nursing home fatalities from March 1, 2020 to Jan. 19, 2021.