CORON-AIR
Man ‘shaking and sweating with Covid’ DIES on United Airlines flight as CDC tries to trace 179 passengers
A MAN who was "shaking and sweating with Covid" DIED on a United Airlines flight from Orlando to LA on Monday.
The victim after an emergency landing in New Orleans,
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Medics on board flight United 591 attempted to save the man, including reportedly performing CPR on him.
One passenger told that his wife said that he had been showing symptoms the past week and that she suspected it was Covid-19.
After the emergency landing at Louisiana, all other passengers carried on to LA.
Some onboard said they were not offered the chance to rebook on a different flight.
The Centers for Disease, Control, and Prevention (CDC) is now in a hurry to trace all 179 passengers of the flight.
Passengers have criticized the airline after they claimed the man was showing coronavirus-like symptoms and was allowed to board the flight.
The airline said on Friday that they were trying to trace those on board the flight.
"Can I ask how you guys let a Covid positive man on my flight last night?" one passenger said.
"He was shaking and sweating boarding the plane. He was clearly sick and then died mid-flight.
"We had an emergency landing in New Orleans and we didn't even switch planes afterwards.
"We all sat there for hours waiting while you guys cleaned up his blood and germs with wet wipes.
"Is this how you guys handle other people's safety and health?"
'AN ENTIRE PLANE HAD TO WATCH HIM SEIZE'
Another traveler on board, Shay, wrote an angry message to the airline on Twitter accusing them of failing to check on passengers before boarding.
"United, why did you never check our temperatures before boarding?' she wrote.
"The family of the man, why didn’t you go to the hospital or not let your husband get on the flight feeling like that?
"An entire plane had to watch him seize or have a heart attack, none of us know which, and die."
Shay said she noticed the man having breathing difficulties but when she tried to make eye contact with his wife "she just looked down".
She said medics on board tried to revive him for an hour.
"The family was crying, people were freaking out," she said.
"He was shocked twice, given an epi-pen, 2 shots of adrenaline and mouth to mouth after chest compressions..."
The CDC has asked United for the passenger list so others on the flight can be told that they might have been exposed to the virus, spokesman Charles Hobart told
Before boarding, the victim had filled out a form saying he had not tested positive for Covid-19 and had no symptoms of the disease according to the Airline.
"It is apparent the passenger wrongly acknowledged this requirement,"; United has said.
'PREVIOUSLY SHOWN SYMPTOMS'
United said the CDC did not specify the man's cause of death and the airline does not know whether the victim died from Covid-19.
But United said that the man's wife was overheard telling the emergency medical technician that he had shown symptoms of the virus including loss of smell and taste.
The CDC is gathering information to decide whether further public health action is required, a spokesman said.
"To protect the privacy of the individual, we aren't providing this information to the public," the CDC spokesman told AP.
Taylor Garland, a spokeswoman for the Association of Flight Attendants said all flight attendants on board United 591 are in quarantine for two weeks and have been since the plane landed in LA.
"Our union continues to provide support to the crew," Garland said.
"We urge passengers to comply with airline COVID policies and stay home if you´re sick."
A spokesperson from United Airlines told the Sun Online: "Our flight diverted to New Orleans due to a medical emergency and paramedics transported the passenger to a local hospital where the individual was pronounced deceased.
"We have been in touch with his family and have extended our sincerest condolences to them for their loss.
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"At the time of the diversion, we were informed he had suffered a cardiac arrest, so passengers were given the option to take a later flight or continue on with their travel plans.
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"Now that the CDC has contacted us directly, we are sharing requested information with the agency so they can work with local health officials to conduct outreach to any customer the CDC believes may be at risk for possible exposure or infection.
"The health and safety of our employees and customers is our highest priority, which is why we have various policies and procedures in place such as mask mandates and requiring customers to complete a ‘Ready-to-Fly’ checklist before the flight acknowledging they have not been diagnosed with COVID-19 in the last 14 days and do not have COVID-related symptoms."
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