An EMT who performed CPR on a United Air passenger who later died of COVID-19 revealed that he now has symptoms of the deadly virus – and feels “hit by a train”, according to a report.
Tony Aldapa was among the passengers who tried to revive 69-year-old Isaias Hernandez, who crashed Monday on an Orlando-Los Angeles flight, even after the man’s wife admitted to having symptoms of coronavirus. .
On Tuesday, parish lawyer Jefferson Gerry Cvitanovich determined that Hernandez died of COVID-19 and acute respiratory failure.
“It was kind of second nature to see someone in a bad place, trying to get them out of the wrong place,” Aldapa told CBS Los Angeles.
“There were three of us who were basically doing a team of labels doing chest compressions – probably about 45 minutes,” said the emergency medical technician.
Hernandez’s wife later admitted that her husband had symptoms of the killer’s insect before boarding the flight and headed home for testing.
“He told me he had symptoms, that he was short of breath and just wanted to bring him home, and they planned to be tested this week,” Aldapa told the post.
After making an emergency landing to take the man to a hospital, where he later died, the flight continued to LA.
Aldapa is now worried he has contracted the disease.
“Basically, I feel like I was hit by a train,” he told CBS LA. “I had a cough, my whole body was still in pain, I had a headache.”
Meanwhile, TMZ reported that United had not yet notified the flight’s 179 passengers that Hernandez had COVID-19, saying it was not his responsibility.
A representative of the airline told the media that he had contacted the CDC and provided the agency with the flight manifesto – adding that it was up to the CDC to contact any passengers who might have been exposed.
United said it was initially informed that the passenger had suffered a cardiac arrest, but did not know about his possible COVID-19 symptoms, according to CBS LA.
“We share the information requested with the (CDC) so that they can work with local health officials to contact any client that the CDC believes may be at risk for possible exposure or infection,” United said in a statement. a statement.
Airline passengers must complete a form acknowledging that they have not tested positive or have had symptoms in the last 14 days, but no proof is required.
Aldapa told the CBS affiliate that the CDC has not reached him yet.
In a statement to the station, the agency said that “it is in the process of collecting information and is following our standard operating procedures to determine if additional public health measures are needed.
“To protect the privacy of the individual, we do not provide this information to the public,” the CDC added.