By the Associated Press.
The Justice Department says it has decided not to open a civil rights investigation into government-run nursing homes in New York over their COVID-19 response.
Under former President Donald Trump, the department’s civil rights division requested data from several states about COVID-19 deaths in public nursing homes.
The request came amid questions about whether New York inadvertently worsened the pandemic death toll by requiring nursing homes to accept residents previously hospitalized for COVID-19.
In a letter sent Friday to several Republican members of Congress, the Justice Department said it had decided not to open an investigation after reviewing data sent by the state.
