A Covid-19 passenger who fell ill on a flight from Florida to California last week has died, Louisiana officials said Tuesday.
Jefferson Parish Coroners has listed “acute respiratory failure” and “Covid-19” as the cause of death for Isaiah Hernandez, a 69-year-old Los Angeles resident.
Hernandez was aboard a Westbound United Airlines flight from Orlando to Los Angeles last Monday. After falling ill, a nurse and EMT – two fellow passengers performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation on them, witnesses said.
The plane was diverted to New Orleans and the coroner reported that Hernandez died that night at a hospital in Canberra, Louisiana.
Passengers on the flight said they heard the man’s voice Wife saying Kovid was experiencing similar symptoms, and a coroner’s report on Thursday confirmed those fears.
United and health officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention were contacting passengers who had been exposed to the coronavirus, the airline said in a statement last week.
United spokesman Charlie Hobart told NBC News that the airline has asked all passengers to fill out a form stating they have not tested positive and are not suffering from any Covid-19 symptoms.
“Now it looks like he didn’t fill it in properly,” Hobart said of Hernandez. “The health and well-being of our crew and passengers is our top priority.”
The airline has turned over its passenger list to the CDC for contact tracing and flight attendants on that trip are now in quarantine, Hobart added.
Hernandez’s family did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
