A New Orleans coroner has confirmed a man who fell ill on a United Airlines flight last week died of COVID-19-related respiratory failure. One those who tried to save his life says the harsh judgment the victim and his wife have faced on social media is unfortunate. Tony Adalpa, an emergency medical technician from Los Angeles, was one of four people who took turns doing CPR on Isaias Hernandez for 47 minutes in the aisle of a United flight from Orlando to L.A. on Dec. 21. Early reports suggested Hernandez knew he had the virus before boarding. Adalpa told the L.A. Times that the victim’s wife told him, during the crisis, that her husband was having trouble breathing and planning to be tested after getting to L.A. After the flight diverted to New Orleans, Hernandez was pronounced dead on arrival at a hospital there.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://www.avweb.com/aviation-news/coroner-confirms-covid-19-killed-united-passenger