From the New York Times, I'm Michael Babaro.

This is the Daily.

Yesterday, we told the story of Lori Sullivan.

Last February, her mother entered a nursing home on Long Island with an injured leg.

And the nursing home said your mother's going to be safe to hear than she's going to be at home.

When people coming in and out of the house.

So they were saying because there was a lockdown facility, that would be safer than if she was at home where you're coming and going.

Right. So we thought, okay, so they'll be on lockdown. Everything will be okay.

Within weeks, she had died from COVID-19.

Her death and the death of thousands of nursing home residents across the state has now triggered a political firestorm and a federal investigation.

Today, in part two of her investigation, Amy Julia Harris examines how the decisions made by New York's governor, Andrew Cuomo, may have contributed to the crisis.

It's Wednesday, February 24th.

Okay, so Amy Julia yesterday, you told us that two weeks before Lori's mother died of COVID-19, governor Andrew Cuomo pretty much ensured that people like Lori couldn't hold nursing homes responsible for the deaths of their loved ones.

So we're going to be able to see how the recovery of how that happened. How holding nursing homes responsible now appears all but impossible.

Michael, you sort of have to go back to the beginning of March when the pandemic and COVID is really bearing down on New York City.

Good evening, everyone. Tonight we're becoming crushed into a tidal wave of unfathomable numbers.

The news in New York is the worst infected district in what is now the world's worst infected city and the doctors and nurses don't know what's hit them.

It's the epicenter of the crisis. People come in, I get intubated, they die, the psych overpeaks.

It is chaotic. People are dying. New York City paramedics are no longer taking patients to hospitals unless they have a pulse to ease the strain on overcrowded yards.

What is becoming quite clear is New York is reaching a tipping point and far sooner than anyone here expected.

And the Cuomo administration said that they were scrambling to free up hospital beds.

We need have 3000 ICU beds. We may need between 18 to 37,000. That's my greatest concern because that's important.

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