New York City Health Commissioner Resigns After Coronavirus Clash With Mayor De Blasio

New York City health commissioner Dr. Oxiris Barbot resigned Tuesday after clashing with Mayor Bill de Blasio on his handling of the coronavirus pandemic, The New York Times reported.

“I leave my post today with deep disappointment that during the most critical public health crisis in our lifetime, that the Health Department’s incomparable disease control expertise was not used to the degree it could have been," Barbot wrote in an email to de Blasio obtained by the Times.

“Our experts are world renowned for their epidemiology, surveillance and response work. The city would be well served by having them at the strategic center of the response not in the background,” the email said.

De Blasio named Dr. Dave A. Chokshi as the new New York City health commissioner.

“Dr. Chokshi has served at the highest level of local, state and federal health agencies, including NYC Health + Hospitals, where he was in senior leadership roles over the past six years," de Blasio said in a statement. "As chief population health officer, Dr. Chokshi's team transformed healthcare delivery for over 1 million New Yorkers. Most recently, he served as a key leader in the City's COVID-19 response.”

Bardot’s resignation highlights the rising tension between City Hall and Health Department officials, which began to escalate as the coronavirus spread began in March, the Times said. De Blasio gave control of contact tracing to the public health system, taking it away from the Health Department after decades during which it performed the task.

New York has reported more than 416,800 confirmed cases of the coronavirus, with COVID-19 deaths topping 32,700, Johns Hopkins University said. The U.S. more than 4.7 million positive cases of the coronavirus and more than 155,800 COVID-19 deaths.