An emergency medical officer who performed CPR on a man in cardiac arrest on a United Airlines flight said he is now showing signs of COVID-19.
Tony Aldapa said he would receive the COVID-19 vaccine on Friday because he is not only a licensed EMT, but also an emergency response worker. But instead, it waits in quarantine to wait for the latest results from a COVID-19 test.
“Ten times out of ten I would get up to help,” Aldapa said.
His training began to help a man who suffered cardiac arrest on a flight from Orlando to LAX. The US Navy veteran says he knew the risks when performing CPR on the man, whose wife said he had coronavirus-like symptoms.
“That was the last thing on my mind,” Aldapa said. “I just thought there is a man who needs CPR.”
But since Monday’s flight, he has had symptoms of the coronavirus.
“I still have a headache, cough, body aches,” he said.
He, along with another EMT and IC nurse, took turns performing CPR on the man. The man’s wife was overheard saying he had lost his sense of taste and smell and told Aldapa that he felt sick before the flight.
“She told me he was short of breath and would be tested for COVID on the way back home,” said Aldapa.
Aldapa says he never used mouth-to-mouth, but that while performing chest compressions in the narrow aisle, he turned on a ventilator and oxygen mask for 45 minutes to help the man breathe.
After an emergency landing to take the man to a hospital, where he later died, the flight continued to LAX.
United Airlines said all passengers must complete a ready-to-use questionnaire to acknowledge that they do not have COVID-19 or symptoms. Although several passengers say the man who helped Aldapa showed symptoms, it’s unclear if he had coronavirus.
Aldapa says we should all hold ourselves accountable.
“If you know you’re sick, be careful of yourself, but also pay attention to the people you’ll be around with… make the right choices,” he said.
The airline contacted Aldapa to thank him, saying it had sent the flight manifest to the CDC.
Aldapa says the CDC has not yet contacted him.
The CDC told NBC4 they are working with local health authorities to reach out to those who may be at risk for infection.