New York Gov. Kathy Hochul adds 12,000 more COVID-19 deaths to state tally

New York's new governor, Kathy Hochul, added 12,000 more COVID-19 deaths to the state's count on her first day in office, significantly increasing the total that former N.Y. Gov. Andrew Cuomo last told the public on Monday.

"The public deserves a clear, honest picture of what's happening. And that's whether it's good or bad, they need to know the truth. And that's how we restore confidence," Hochul told NPR.

The governor's office reported that 55,400 people had died from COVID-19 in the state, up from the 43,400 that Cuomo last reported.

The higher number is based on death certificate data submitted to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) from the New York State Department of Health and New York City, which includes people who died at home, in hospice, and elsewhere, in addition to those in nursing homes, hospitals, and adult care facilities. The Cuomo administration's lower number was only taking into account COVID-19 deaths from hospitals, nursing homes, and adult care facilities.

"There are presumed and confirmed deaths. People should know both," Hochul said.

Academic institutions and federal health officials tracking deaths from COVID-19 in the U.S. have used the 55,400 number for several months because it was known that there was some missing data from what Cuomo provided, the Associated Press reported.

"There's a lot of things that weren't happening, and I'm going to make them happen," Hochul, the former lieutenant governor, told MSNBC on Wednesday. "Transparency will be the hallmark of my administration."

Cuomo's spokesman, Rich Azzopardi, said the former governor's administration reported only "clearly labeled confirmed COVID deaths" for the sake of accuracy, but also reported the "presumed" deaths to the CDC, according to the AP.

"New York always reported these numbers and they were always publicly available," Azzopardi said, but did not explain why COVID-19 deaths outside of hospitals and nursing homes were not added to the count.