An off-duty ambulance crew who performed CPR on a United Airline passenger who later died of COVID-19 has revealed that he is now showing symptoms of the deadly virus – and according to a report, feels like he was “hit by a train.”
Tony Aldapa was among the passengers who attempted to revive 69-year-old Isaias Hernandez, who collapsed on a flight from Orlando to Los Angeles on Monday, even after the man’s wife admitted he had symptoms of the coronavirus.
On Tuesday, Jefferson Parish Coroner Gerry Cvitanovich determined that Hernandez died of COVID-19 and acute respiratory failure.
“It was just second nature to see someone in a bad place, you try to get them out of the bad place,” Aldapa told CBS Los Angeles.
“The three of us were basically doing chest compressions – probably about 45 minutes,” said the emergency medical officer.
Hernandez’s wife later admitted that her husband had symptoms of the killer bug before boarding and going home to get tested.
“She told me he had symptoms, he was short of breath and she just wanted to take him home and they planned to get tested this week,” Aldapa told the agency.
After crash-landing to take the man to a hospital, where he later died, the flight continued to LA.
Aldapa is now concerned that he has contracted the disease.
“Basically, I just feel like I was hit by a train,” he told CBS LA. “I had a cough, my whole body was still aching, I had a headache.”
Meanwhile, TMZ has reported that United still has not informed the flight’s 179 passengers that Hernandez had COVID-19, saying it is not its responsibility.
An airline representative told the outlet they have been in contact with the CDC and issued the flight manifest to the agency – adding that it is up to the CDC to contact passengers who may have been exposed.
United said it was initially informed that the passenger had suffered cardiac arrest, but was unaware of his possible COVID-19 symptoms, according to CBS LA.
“We will share the requested information with the (CDC) so they can work with local health officials to liaise with any customer that the CDC believes may be at risk for potential exposure or infection,” United said in a statement.
Airline passengers must complete a form acknowledging that they have not tested positive or experienced symptoms in the past 14 days, but proof is not required.
Aldapa told the CBS affiliate that the CDC has not reached him yet.
In a statement to the station, the agency said it “is in the process of collecting information and following our standard operating procedures to determine if further public health measures are appropriate.
“To protect the privacy of the individual, we do not disclose this information to the public,” the CDC added.