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A man who has denied having symptoms of COVID-19 boarded a United Airlines flight from Orlando to Los Angeles on Monday. Shortly after the flight, he suffered a medical emergency and died on board, and his wife was overheard telling medical staff that he had symptoms of COVID.
The incident happened on Flight 591, and it’s basically everyone’s worst nightmare in this pandemic, if they have dared to get on a plane. As The Associated Press reports, the plane was hijacked to New Orleans for the emergency, and now the airline and CDC are advising everyone about the flight of their potential exposure – even though the COVID status of the man has not been confirmed.
A passenger on the flight said she heard from a nurse on board who treated the man that it was likely related to COVID, and the same passenger said the family the man was traveling with had bags Disney tidied up – suggesting they had just come from Disney World. Another passenger said the man’s wife was caught telling someone the man had symptoms of COVID, including loss of taste and smell.
* We assumed (and this is only a guess) that he was returning from Disneyworld. His family was pulling Disney bags when they left the flight
– Shay (@shaylabobmonsta) December 15, 2020
There was no mouth to mouth. I was right next to him as they tried to resuscitate. Unfortunately, I saw it all. We all thought of a heart attack at first, but his wife quickly shared that he was experiencing shortness of breath and a lack of taste and smell.
– Robert Reeves (@reevesreel) December 16, 2020
As the New York Times reports, the flight’s four flight attendants all went into 14-day quarantine. Yet United did not confirm whether the man tested positive for COVID and said when he rerouted the flight all of the pilot and crew knew the man was in cardiac arrest.
United says the decision to allow the flight from New Orleans to Los Angeles was made before it was understood the man may have symptoms of COVID. The man reportedly completed a ‘Ready to Fly’ checklist form saying he had no symptoms and had not tested positive for the virus, but the man’s family say he is. felt sick before travel day, according to the Times. In addition, the man is said to have suffered from underlying conditions, including high blood pressure and a respiratory problem.
“The decision to continue to Los Angeles was taken after medical professionals initially deemed the emergency to be heart distress,” United said in a statement. “A plane change was not warranted. Instead, passengers were given the option of disembarking and catching a later flight or continuing to Los Angeles. All passengers chose to continue.”
The incident comes just as airlines are expected to be busier than they have been for most of this year as people ignore health warnings and / or decide to risk traveling to celebrate. vacations with loved ones. Very few cases have surfaced in the media of people knowingly contracting COVID-19 on flights, and experts have so far suggested that flying with masks is relatively safe.
United also said in its statement: “We implore passengers not to travel if they have been diagnosed with Covid-19 or have symptoms related to Covid. When in doubt, the best option is to go. test.”
Photo by Mario Tama / Getty Images
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