A patient living a a care facility has died after paramedics allegedly refused to enter the building due to COVID protocols.

The incident took place last month at Rialto Post Acute Care Center in Southern California.

According to the report, paramedics were called to the area to assist with a patient who had gone into cardiac arrest inside the facility. When paramedics arrived to the facility, however, they just stood outside the building with all of their equipment.

When asked why they would not go through the threshold of the building, the paramedics said it was against state COVID protocol.

A responding officer, Ralph Ballew detailed in his report that he noticed the paramedics standing at the door and watched an exchange between the facility’s staff and the paramedics.

“He’s having cardiac arrest!” the nurse said to the paramedics pleading for help, according to Ballew’s report.

The paramedics then reportedly told the nurse to bring the patient to them. When the nurse told paramedics that they were performing CPR on the patient and could not move them, that when paramedics responded with:

“You are doing the same thing we would have to do if we went in,” one of the fire personnel said, according to Ballew. “So, hurry up and bring him out so we can help.”

That’s when officer Ballew, jumped into action. Bodycam video shows Ballew running to the room where a panicked nurse was desperately performing CPR on the patient. The officer then helped the staff push the bed, which did not have wheels, out of to the front of building to paramedics.

The patient was then taken to an area hospital where they were pronounced dead.

According to the facility, they did not have the tools to help the patient which is why they called the fire department for assistance.

The fire department has released a statement saying that they have placed the paramedics on leave pending a third-party investigation.

Rialto Mayor Deborah Robertson has also made a statement about the incident:

“We want to have a thorough investigation, and the actions [of the paramedics], if they were not in any way in keeping with policy, or even if it was, it will be addressed,” Mayor Robertson said at a city council meeting last week.