ORLANDO, Fla. — A man who boarded a flight from Orlando despite having coronavirus symptoms later died, and now an EMT who helped him on the plane is feeling sick, according to news reports.
Tony Aldapa and others performed CPR on Monday night on the fellow passenger who had a case of the virus that ended up killing him, KCAL-Channel 2 in Los Angeles reported.
The United Airlines flight to Los Angeles made an emergency landing so the sick passenger could be taken to a hospital, where he died.
On Tuesday, Louisiana authorities confirmed the passenger died of acute respiratory failure after contracting COVID-19, according to an NBC report.
The plane then flew on to LAX, the report states.
KCAL said that the now-dead man and his wife both knew he had coronavirus symptoms but got on the plane anyway and had planned to “get tested” when he got home.
“Airline passengers are required to fill out a form acknowledging they have not tested positive or had symptoms in the last 14 days, but proof is not required,” according to the report.
Aldapa says he now has a cough, headache and body aches.
