United Airlines is working with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to track and contact passengers who were on a flight on which a passenger died Monday because the man may have had coronavirus, CNN reports.
The flight was scheduled from Orlando to Los Angeles, but diverted to New Orleans after the man fell ill. He was taken off the flight upon landing in New Orleans by a medical crew, and was pronounced dead at a local hospital.
Initially, airline staff and passengers were told the man was thought to have experienced cardiac arrest. His wife, who was on the flight with him, told emergency medical technicians that her husband had experienced COVID symptoms, including loss of taste and smell.
The passenger, however, had filled out a COVID acknowledgement form, stating that he did not have any symptoms of coronavirus infection, before boarding the flight.
After the passenger and his wife were removed from the flight in New Orleans, the other passengers continued on to Los Angeles on the same plane.