New York takes conservative approach counting virus deaths Associated Press Darren McGee- Office of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo January 08, 2020 - Albany, NY - Governor Andrew Cuomo delivers his 2020 State of the State Address to the Legislature (Darren McGee- Office of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo) The federal government's count of the COVID-19 death toll in New York has 11,000 more victims than the tally publicized by the administration of Gov. Andrew Cuomo, which has stuck with a far more conservative approach to counting virus deaths. The discrepancy in death counts continued to widen this year, according to an Associated Press review, even as the Democrat has come under fire over allegations that his office purposely obscured the number of deaths of nursing home residents to protect his reputation.