New videos have surfaced showing passengers desperately trying to save the life of a man who died of COVID-19 on a United Airlines flight last week as they reveal they have yet to be contacted by health officials for nine days after the trial.
Isaias Hernandez, 69, died of coronavirus and acute respiratory failure on Dec. 14 while traveling to LA from Orlando on UA Flight 591, a coroner confirmed on Tuesday.
Hernandez, who was from Los Angeles, went into cardiac arrest in the middle of the escape and died at a Louisiana hospital after the plane made an emergency landing in New Orleans.
A new video of the incident, shared Wednesday, shows fellow passengers themselves at risk of catching the virus as they desperately performed CPR on Hernandez for about 45 minutes.
Passenger Steven Chang, who was one of three CPR-trained professionals on board, was filmed giving chest compressions to the man as he lay in the hallway on the Boeing 737-900 in full view of other affected travelers.
According to TMZ, Chang has developed symptoms since the flight, but has tested negative for the virus.
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Video footage shared Wednesday shows passenger Steven Chang performing CPR on Isaias Hernandez, 69, who died of COVID-19 on a United flight from Orlando to Los Angeles on Dec. 14.
Chang was one of three CPR-trained passengers on board who tried to save Hernandez’s life by performing
It comes after another passenger, Tony Aldapa, an EMT who also helped perform the life-saving procedure on Hernandez, revealed that he, too, has begun to show symptoms of COVID-19.
But none of the men – or any of the other nearby passengers – have been contacted by the CDC since, despite the health authority saying they would work with local health authorities to reach those who may be at risk. for possible exposure or infection.
Tony Aldapa was filmed desperately with CPR for 45 minutes on a fellow passenger who had fallen unconscious on the United plane last week. He says he has had symptoms since the flight
United Airlines said it was not responsible for requesting health advice and confirmed to A that it had already given the names of all 179 passengers to the CDC.
In a statement to DailyMail.com, the CDC said it has sent contact information for passengers to state and local health departments where they live for public health follow-up and contact tracking.
A spokesman also referred to the CDC’s website about the process, which explains how these agencies then ‘try to locate these passengers and inform them of their exposure and what to do.’
But why these agencies do not yet have to contact passengers is unclear.
United Airlines has also been hit by setbacks from passengers who have questioned how Hernandez was allowed on board after showing symptoms of the virus.
Some said Hernandez’s wife was also overheard on the flight, saying he had lost his sense of taste and smell.
TMZ reports that a spokesman told the outlet that they were not medical professionals and it is up to the CDC to contact those who may have been exposed.
Aldapa told CBS he feels as if he was ‘hit by a train’ after developing symptoms.
Aldapa was among the three passengers who helped perform CPR on the 69-year-old man during the flight. They are seen above in another video of the incident
Aldapa, a U.S. Navy veteran, said the man’s wife later told him her husband had suffered from COVID-19 symptoms before boarding the flight.
‘I got a cough, my whole body hurts, I had a headache,’ he told the news station on Tuesday.
He was scheduled to receive the COVID-19 vaccine this Friday as he is a major health worker but is now in quarantine awaiting the results of his coronavirus test.
Aldapa, a U.S. Navy veteran, said the man’s wife later told him her husband had had COVID-19 symptoms before she boarded the flight.
‘She told me he had symptoms, he was short of breath and she just wanted to get him home and they were planning to be tested this week,’ Aldapa said.
Aldapa said he did not administer word of mouth when giving CPR.
Before boarding a flight, passengers are asked if they have tested positive for COVID-19 or have any symptoms.
United have since said the man acknowledged United’s ready to fly ‘pandemic health checklist before boarding.
Aldapa said he knew the risks when he started performing CPR, but that his training started and that he would do it again if necessary.
‘It was just a different nature to see someone in a bad place, you’re trying to bring them out of that bad place,’ Aldapa said.
‘There were three of us who were essentially tag-teaming who did chest compressions, probably about 45 minutes.’
Aldapa, as well as another EMT and an ICU nurse, helped provide the man during the flight.
Footage filmed by fellow passengers showed the trio giving the man chest compressions in the hallway after he stopped breathing for about an hour into the flight.
Passengers say the man was seen on the plane shaking and sweating and had difficulty breathing even before the flight started.
When the plane landed, doctors from the New Orleans Fire Department boarded the flight and the man was rushed to a nearby hospital.
The flight continued to Los Angeles shortly after.
Aldapa said United contacted him several days ago to say they were giving the CDC information about passengers on the plane.
United said they had been asked by the CDC to provide a list of passengers so the agency could work with local health officials on contact tracking.
‘We share requested information with (CDC) so that they can work with local health officials to reach out to any customer that the CDC believes may be at risk of possible exposure or infection,’ United said in a statement.
Aldapa said the CDC still has not reached out to him yet in terms of tracking contacts, despite the coroner’s office revealing that the man’s cause of death was related to COVID-19.
In a statement, the CDC said they were in the process of gathering information and proceeding according to our standard procedures to determine if further public health actions are appropriate.
‘In order to protect the privacy of the individual, we do not provide this information to the public.’
Other passengers on board the flight have also said the CDC has not yet contacted them.