WOODLAND PARK, N.J. – Managers at New Jersey s veterans homes not only barred employees from wearing protective masks during the first weeks of the outbreak, they devised a series of penalties with the help of Gov. Phil Murphy s office against nurses who wore the homes’ masks without permission.
More than 190 residents have died from COVID-19 in the state s veterans homes.
Emails obtained by The Record and NorthJersey.com, part of the USA TODAY Network, show that at least one worker had to return home because management wouldn t let him wear a mask – even though he had a doctor s note saying he suffered from asthma.
Managers at New Jersey s veterans homes where more than 190 residents have died from COVID-19 not only barred employees from wearing protective masks during the first weeks of the outbreak, they devised a series of penalties with the help of Gov. Phil Murphy s office against nurses who wore the homes’ masks without permission.
Emails obtained by The Record and NorthJersey.com show that at least one worker had to return home because management wouldn t let him wear a mask, even though he had a doctor s note saying he suffered from asthma.
Managers at the Paramus and Menlo Park homes were so opposed to mask-wearing at the start of the pandemic that they pushed back against letting outside vendors and ambulance crews wear them at the veterans homes as they transported residents, the emails show.