NIGHTMARE

CDC Gets Involved After Man With COVID Symptoms Dies During United Flight

The man was experiencing possible virus symptoms before he boarded a flight in Orlando.

United Airlines is attempting to track down all the passengers who were on a flight on Monday where a man died onboard. His family has since told the airline he was experiencing coronavirus symptoms, such as loss of smell. The man never tested positive for the virus and filled out a form prior to boarding the Los Angeles-bound flight from Orlando that said he hadn’t tested positive or experienced any COVID-19 symptoms in recent days. The flight was rerouted to New Orleans in order to get medical help for the man. He was pronounced dead at a New Orleans hospital.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is now working with United in order to contact trace passengers from the flight, which was nearly a week ago. “Now that the CDC has contacted us directly, we are sharing requested information with the agency so they can work with local health officials to conduct outreach to any customer the CDC believes may be at risk for possible exposure or infection,” a spokesperson for United Airlines said. Four flight attendants from the flight are quarantining for 14 days, the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA told Buzzfeed News.