Maria Gibbs, a senior corrections police officer, died of cardiac and kidney issues related to the virus, officials said.
She was the third corrections officer in New Jersey to have died of COVID-19. Her husband reportedly tested positive for COVID-19 but has not developed any symptoms.
Gibbs, formerly of Newark, posted a watermarked photo to Facebook that says: "I can't stay home. I'm a correctional officer."
She was a 19-year veteran who worked at the state’s central reception and assignment facility in Trenton, and previously worked at Northern State Prison in Newark.
Sha-Ron Williams, Gibbs' former colleague, said she loved to have fun and laugh.
"We worked on the same floor for a little over a year," Williams wrote. "Every day working with her was an adventure! It was never a dull moment! You never knew what she was going to do! One thing for sure if you was having a bad day, she would find some crazy way to turn it into a good one."
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