Mask Ban To Cost Heavy Payday...

[SIZE=7]Family sues after Publix grocery store worker, 70, dies from Covid-19[/SIZE]

The family of a Publix employee who died after contracting the coronavirus alleges in a lawsuit that the supermarket company banned workers from wearing face masks at the start of the pandemic.

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Gerardo Gutierrez, who worked in the deli department of the Miami Beach grocery store, died on April 28 from Covid-19 complications, according to a suit filed Monday. The suit says the 70-year-old became ill after an employee he worked with tested positive for the virus. Michael Levine, a lawyer representing Gutierrez’s four children, said in a statement that the death was “completely preventable.”

The lawsuit claims that at the start of the pandemic, Publix prohibited employees from wearing face masks and gloves despite the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention urging people to social distance.

The lawsuit points out that for many workers at the grocery store, social distancing was not possible.

One employee was told that they could either “work without a mask or go home,” the suit states. Another was allegedly told that they could not wear masks or gloves because it would “incite panic” with customers.

“Publix was more concerned with protecting its sales and profits fabricating the excuse that customers would be ‘turned off’ by employees wearing masks,” the lawsuit says. “Publix intentionally chose to protect sales over the health and well-being of its employees and customers knowing that employees, especially a 70-year employee working next to a sick co-worker, such as Gerardo Gutierrez, would be exposed to COVID-19 and die.”

A message on Publix’s website states that the company did not issue a mask requirement until April 20, after Gutierrez became ill.

At the time the message was posted, Publix told the Tampa Bay Times that it was initially following the CDC’s guidelines which discouraged the use of face coverings in public.

“We have been, and will continue to be, keenly focused on intensive, ongoing protective measures in all our stores,” Publix spokeswoman Maria Brous told the outlet at that time.

According to the lawsuit, an employee at the store started showing signs of Covid-19 in late March but was not sent home until after testing positive for the virus. Gutierrez was then asked to self-isolate at home because of his close contact with the worker.

Days later, he developed a fever and cough, the lawsuit says. On April 10, he was admitted to the hospital and on April 28, doctors called Gutierrez’s family and told them that his condition had worsened.

“Family and friends gathered by Zoom to say their goodbyes, unable to hold his hand or give him one last hug. Later that day, Gerardo Gutierrez died as a result of complications caused by COVID-19,” the lawsuit states.

Ariane Gutierrez, his daughter, said that Publix banning employees from wearing masks was a “careless decision.”

“The sudden passing of our father has been a devastating loss to our family," she said in a statement. “He was a very kind, loving and hardworking man that is greatly missed by many. He was truly loved by the people in his life. Our family is in shock that Publix would prevent its employees from staying safe.”

In a tearful interview with NBC Miami, she said the family is still mourning the death.

“The fact that we didn’t even have the chance to see him was probably one of the hardest things about the whole thing,” Ariane Gutierrez said.

Levine accused the supermarket company of choosing “profits over the safety of its employees.”

"These employees, including Gerardo Gutierrez, continued to show up at work to help our communities. The least Publix could have done was allow employees to exercise their personal freedom and protect themselves from the spread of the virus,” he said.

The family is seeking monetary damages.

Publix did not respond to emails and phone calls requesting comment Tuesday.

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The CEO of one of the largest health systems in the Dakotas is leaving his role days after he sent a controversial email to employees about his recovery from the coronavirus and his self-claimed immunity from the disease. The board of trustees of Sanford Health announced Tuesday that it “mutually agreed to part ways” with longtime president and chief executive Kelby Krabbenhoft.

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The 62-year-old told employees in an email Wednesday that he will not be wearing a mask to the office because he recovered from the coronavirus and is therefore immune, according to The Associated Press. Krabbenhoft, who is not a physician, reportedly told employees that he’s immune to the virus for “at least seven months and perhaps years to come” — a statement that is not supported by the science.

“For me to wear a mask defies the efficacy and purpose of a mask and sends an untruthful message that I am susceptible to infection or could transmit it,” Krabbenhoft wrote in the email, according to the AP. “I have no interest in using masks as a symbolic gesture. … My team and I have a duty to express the truth and facts and reality and not feed the opposite.”

Krabbenhoft did say it was important for those who hadn’t contracted COVID-19 to wear masks, writing, “It is important for them to know that masks are just plain smart to use and in their best interest.”

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Sanford Chief Medical Officer Dr. Allison Suttle speaks during a COVID-19 briefing

Krabbenhoft also recently made headlines for contradicting his own medical director about the severity of the pandemic. He told CBS News correspondent David Begnaud that “It’s hard for me to say we are at a crisis” — but when the medical director, Dr. Allison Suttle, was asked if she’d call the situation a crisis, she responded, “I would.”

In an interview Tuesday with the station, Krabbenhoft said he’s leaving the company early because of how successful it has become.

“If there was ever a time for a guy, who’s been through what I’ve been through, this is a great time to say goodbye,” he said.

Sanford Health — which is based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota — has 46 hospitals and over 200 clinics in the Midwest, according to its website. When the merger is complete, the company will have 70 hospitals and employ nearly 90,000 people, KELO-TV reported.

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