Passenger who fell ill on United flight died from COVID, officials say

A passenger who fell ill on a United Airlines flight from Orlando, Florida, to Los Angeles last week died from COVID-19, a coroner confirmed on Tuesday.

Jefferson Parish coroners in Louisiana listed the causes of death for Isaias Hernandez, 69, as “acute respiratory failure” and “COVID-19,” NBC News reported.

Hernandez was on a United Airlines flight on Dec. 14 and the flight was diverted to New Orleans, according to the publication. He later died at a hospital in Kenner, the coroner’s report said.

A passenger on the plane tweeted at the time that she overheard his wife tell EMTs that he had tested positive for COVID-19 and that the plane was continuing on to Los Angeles.

United officials said Hernandez had coronavirus symptoms but didn’t confirm a positive test result, according to USA Today.

The airline said it has been in contact with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, The Washington Post reported.

“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,” spokesman Charles Hobart said in a statement. “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 four flight attendants are quarantining for 14 days, according to Taylor Garland, spokesperson for Associated of Flight Attendants-CWA, the publication reported.

United Airlines requires all passengers to complete a self-assessment during check-in. The Ready-to-Fly checklist asks passengers to confirm that they didn’t have coronavirus symptoms in the 14 days before flying and haven’t tested positive in the 21 days before departure.

In July, a woman become unresponsive on a Spirit Airlines flight and died due to COVID-19, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported. The Texas woman was in her 30s and died in New Mexico after the flight from Las Vegas to Dallas-Fort Worth was diverted to Albuquerque.

This story was originally published December 18, 2020 at 5:31 PM with the headline "Passenger who fell ill on United flight died from COVID, officials say."