At the start of the coronavirus pandemic, guidance about mask wearing was mixed, with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention actively discouraging members of the general public from wearing face coverings in order to preserve supply for sick people and health-care workers. That guidance changed within weeks, but in New Jersey, emails show veterans homes went a step too far. The state’s veterans homes actually banned employees from wearing masks on the premises and planned to punish health-care workers who wore masks in March. Emails acquired by The Record and NorthJersey.com show vets homes sent at least one asthmatic employee home from work because he wore a mask. The homes claim their mask guidance was based on state rules and put in place to preserve mask supply. A spokesman for Gov. Phil Murphy’s office told NorthJersey.com mask supply “was strained in March and painstaking steps were taken to ensure its proper usage.” Nearly 200 people died of coronavirus in New Jersey veterans homes this year.