California workplace safety officials recently issued a citation against a Kaiser Permanente psychiatric facility in Santa Clara, Calif., accusing the center of failing to provide workers with N95 masks and other protection, according to an article on the Cal Matters website.

The citation, issued by the state’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health has a proposed fine of $11,200.

The citation could be the first in an expected wave of citations against Kaiser Permanente facilities statewide for failing to acknowledge that COVID-19 can be transmitted via aerosol particles.

Until this incident, Cal/OSHA had closed 80 complaints about COVID-19 hazards in Kaiser Permanente hospitals and medical centers without issuing any citations. Many alleged that healthcare workers were never provided with N95 masks and other personal protective equipment. 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed that people can  become infected with COVID-19 through airborne transmission, according to a Washington Post article.

The risk increases in enclosed spaces with inadequate ventilation.

Read the full Cal Matters article.