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'He was my hero:' Son mourns dad who died of COVID-19

Retired firefighter Gary Holmberg was only supposed to be at Pleasant View nursing home in Maryland for a few weeks.

He was recovering from a fall at his assisted living center.

But just a month after he arrived, Holmberg died from COVID-19 -- one of more than a dozen Pleasant View residents who have fallen victim to the disease.

Almost half of Maryland's 200 plus nursing homes have now reported coronavirus cases.

Pleasant View is one of the state's worst outbreaks.

Holmberg's son Robert says his father was his hero.

(SOUNDBITE) (English) ROBERT HOLMBERG, 47, SON OF GARY HOLMBERG, WHO DIED OF COVID-19, SAYING:

"There's no question about that. Definitely a genuinely good person. Always wanted to help people. He was a D.C. firefighter, I don't know if you knew that. And he was so proud of the fire department. Wore that shirt everywhere."

Robert says his father was unconscious by the time he got to his bedside.

But Robert and his sister were still able to see him before he died.

(SOUNDBITE) (English) ROBERT HOLMBERG, 47, SON OF GARY HOLMBERG, WHO DIED OF COVID-19, SAYING:

"I was in the hospital and the hardest thing was just watching and sitting there next to him, holding his hand, and I told him I still love you, Dad. I said you did a great job in raising us. We learned a lot. Don't worry about anything. We'll make sure everything's taken care of. I don't know if he heard me or not, but watching him gasp for air is the hardest thing to see."

The president of LifeSpan Network, a group of senior care providers including Pleasant View, says many staffers work in multiple facilities, and unknowingly became virus carriers.

Earlier this week, Maryland Governor Larry Hogan issued an executive order requiring staff to wear personal protective equipment and expediting testing for nursing homes.

But for Holmberg, the additional requirements for nursing homes came too late.

He died on March 29, just days before a coronavirus test came back positive.

(SOUNDBITE) (English) ROBERT HOLMBERG, 47, SON OF GARY HOLMBERG, WHO DIED OF COVID-19, SAYING:

"The plan was to get him out of there and bring him closer down here. I think about it every night. I think about, you know, me telling him I'm going to get him out of there, I'm going to get him out of there and not being able to do it in time."

The Pleasant View home did not respond to a request for comment.

However, LifeSpan Network said the home had asked state authorities for testing kits on March 10, and did not get them immediately.

Governor Hogan told C-SPAN a healthcare worker had brought the virus into the home, infecting other staff -- and the residents.