Paramus Vets Home Mixes Up Man's Death Amid Coronavirus: Report

PARAMUS, NJ — One Paramus family is mourning after a mixup at a residential care facility for veterans told them their 91-year-old relative had recovered from the new coronavirus. In a phone call four hours alter, the home admitted they'd mixed up patients and that the man, a Korean War veteran, had died.

According to a report in USA Today, the family of 91-year-old Tom Mastropietro learned he had been given the wrong identification band. It was a funeral home worker who noticed the mixup, spotting two identification bracelets on the man's wrist, each bearing a different name, and called the nursing home.

The New Jersey Department of Health reports the new coronavirus has made its way into 55 long-term care facilities in Bergen County, leaving 415 dead in its wake. A total of 2,165 long-term care residents have tested positive for the virus in Bergen.

USA Today reported on Friday that at least 50 Paramus Veterans Home residents have died from COVID-19, but the total number could be greater.

On April 9, combat medics were sent to the Paramus home to assist other veterans home staffers in caring for the veterans who live inside.

>>> Read the full story on USA Today.