Chris Cuomo Not Allowed to Interview Brother N.Y. Gov. Andrew Cuomo or Cover News About Him for CNN

Chris Cuomo will no longer be covering his brother, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, for CNN.

Although the news anchor had Andrew on his show Cuomo Prime Time early on in the pandemic, the network said in a statement this week that those appearances were an exception to its rules concerning conflicts of interest — and that the time for that exception has passed.

"The early months of the pandemic crisis were an extraordinary time," CNN said in a statement obtained by PEOPLE on Thursday.

"We felt that Chris speaking with his brother about the challenges of what millions of American families were struggling with was of significant human interest," the statement said. "As a result, we made an exception to a rule that we have had in place since 2013 which prevents Chris from interviewing and covering his brother, and that rule remains in place today. CNN has covered the news surrounding Governor Cuomo extensively."

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Andrew, 63, is currently at the center of a controversy about how he has handled the state's response to COVID-19 when it comes to nursing homes. The New York Times reported earlier this month that one of the governor's aids admitted that the number of nursing home deaths had been purposefully withheld.

Chris, 50, has not covered the controversy on his prime time show, which prompted an op-ed in the Washington Post about the ethics of journalists covering family members and resulted in the statement from CNN.

The network has covered the governor and the nursing home controversy on its other programs, however, including on New Day, The Lead with Jake Tapper, CNN Newsroom Live and several others.

Last year, Chris interviewed his older brother several times, providing plenty of fodder for viral moments in the early days of the pandemic.

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