Publix Worker's Family Blames Anti-Mask Policy For COVID-19 Death
The family of a 70-year-old Florida Publix worker who died from the coronavirus in April is suing the supermarket chain, claiming its prohibition against workers wearing masks at the start of the pandemic directly caused his death.
“Because of its careless decisions, our father is not here with us today,” Gerardo “Gerry” Gutierrez’s daughter, Ariane Gutierrez, said in a statement Monday following the filing of her wrongful death lawsuit. The suit, filed in Miami-Dade County, seeks more than $30,000 in damages.
Gutierrez was working at a Miami Beach store’s deli in late March when a co-worker began coughing and showing other signs of COVID-19, according to the lawsuit. At the time, employees of the Florida-based chain were prohibited from wearing protective face masks, with the company telling them masks would scare customers.
Gutierrez’s co-worker was not sent home until days later, after she tested positive for the virus, according to the suit. Gutierrez, on April 2, was asked to self-isolate as a precaution.
Gutierrez soon showed signs of the virus, including a cough and a fever, and was hospitalized. He died alone on April 28 following a video call with his four adult children, his family said.
https://www.yahoo.com/huffpost/publix-sued-mask-policy-caused-worker-coronavirus-173351148.html
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