In the days after a man on their flight stopped breathing, fellow passengers wondered if he was infected with coronavirus – and whether they might be at risk. The airline said it didn’t know, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention wouldn’t say publicly.
An answer didn’t come until a local coroner released a report a week later confirming that covid-19 was a cause of the 69-year-old man’s death on Dec. 14, along with acute respiratory failure. By Wednesday, three different passengers said they still hadn’t gotten official word from any public health authorities.
“I figured somehow they would get in touch with everybody, send out probably a mass email – at least to everybody who booked the flight – and say, ‘If you were on this flight, you should go get tested,’” said Robert Reeves, 53, who was a few feet away from the man as medical workers performed CPR in the aisle for roughly 45 minutes. The flight from Orlando to Los Angeles diverted to New Orleans so the man could be taken to the hospital, then continued with all passengers on board.
Tony Aldapa, a passenger who helped perform CPR on the man during the flight, said he finally heard from a public health official on Dec. 24 – 10 days after the flight.
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Source: Seattle Times
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