December 24, 2020, 7:32 am
If you were doomscrolling on Twitter about a week ago, you might have run across a woman who tweeted that a man died on a plane she was on.
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The tweet from Jo LaFlame (@jobreauxx) alleged, “The man behind me on this flight. DIED. OF COVID. MIDFLIGHT.” She then expressed she had questions, and in a follow-up tweet, noted that they were continuing on to their destination, then cracked, “Wet wipes *better* save the day this time.”
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She also alleged (in response to a question tweeted from the Devin Nunes’ Cow account) that she knew the man who died had COVID-19 because “his wife confirmed a positive test when talking to EMTs.”
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A New York Times article that ran Friday attempted to shed light on United Airlines Flight 591, which was en route from Orlando to Los Angeles, but made an unexpected stop in New Orleans when a man on the flight experienced cardiac arrest.
The article noted, “United Airlines said on Friday that the man’s wife was overheard telling an emergency medical worker that her husband had symptoms of Covid-19, including loss of taste and smell.
“But United officials said medical professionals did not confirm at the time that the man had tested positive for the virus, and they are still not sure if he was infected. When the flight was diverted to New Orleans, the airline said, it was told that the passenger had experienced cardiac arrest.”
Still, the flight crew started a 14-day quarantine upon landing per United’s guidelines, and United was working with health officials to contact passengers about the potential exposure.
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The Centers for Disease Control also got involved. “We are sharing requested information with the agency so they can work with local health officials to conduct outreach to any customer the C.D.C. believes may be at risk for possible exposure or infection,” United said in the Times article.
If the man did indeed die of COVID-19 complications, it would—alarmingly—not be the first time this has happened on a plane in the U.S. A Washington Post article, shared in the thread, details a case involving a Spirit Airlines flight.
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The article asserts that unlike the death that was tweeted about, Spirit “was never asked by health authorities to share passenger manifests to aid in tracking down people who might have been exposed,” even though the airline claims it alerted the CDC upon learning the cause of death.
*First Published: December 24, 2020, 7:32 am
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