Exclusive: Kaiser Permanente cited by Cal/OSHA for failing to treat COVID-19 as airborne

California workplace safety officials issued a serious citation against a Kaiser Permanente psychiatric facility in Santa Clara, accusing the center of failing to provide workers with N95 masks and other protection against COVID-19. But the problems facing the health care giant may run much deeper.

The citation, issued Oct. 14 by the state’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health with a proposed fine of $11,200, is 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, according to a source inside Cal/OSHA, who asked not to be identified. Kaiser told CalMatters on Thursday that it plans to appeal.