Texas Confirms COVID-19 Death Aboard Aircraft
A woman in her 30’s from the Dallas, Texas region was one of the few fatalities to take place aboard an aircraft, according to new information from the county. The woman was given oxygen aboard the flight after experience difficulty breathing, but ultimately succumbed to the infection.
A flyer aboard a commercial flight from Arizona to Dallas, Texas was confirmed to have passed away from COVID-19 earlier this summer, but it’s unclear if she passed the virus to other passengers aboard the aircraft. In a press release, officials from Dallas County, Texas announced the flyer’s death from July 2020.
Woman Previously Contracted COVID-19, Flying with Underlying Health Risks
According to the text of the release, the deceased was only identified as: “A woman in her 30’s who was a resident of the City of Garland.” County officials did not disclose what airline she was aboard, or her exact age due to privacy concerns. They did say that the woman “did have underlying high-risk health conditions.”
In comments to NBC Dallas-Fort Worth, judge Clay Jenkins confirmed that the woman passed away while the aircraft was parked on a taxiway at a New Mexico airport. According to his account, the woman experienced difficulty breathing and was given oxygen by flight attendants.
The tragic case leaves more questions than answers about how COVID-19 cases are being treated aboard the airlines. The judge did not disclose if passengers around the deceased flyer were tested for COVID-19 afterwards, or if face masks were in use for all flyers. Unless there is additional contact tracing, it’s unknown how many more people may have been exposed to the virus from that incident.
Although there are only 44 confirmed novel Coronavirus infections from flight exposure, this case could be the only one where someone has actually died from the virus while onboard a flight. Under federal law, airlines are required to report deaths aboard aircraft to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC).
Death Announced as CDC Forwards New Guidelines
The woman’s death was made public as the CDC introduced new guidelines for all travelers, including those flying aboard a commercial aircraft. The agency is now issuing a “strong recommendation for wearing of masks by passengers on and operators of conveyances to prevent spread of the virus that causes COVID-19.”
Yet, the U.S. Department of Transportation remains neutral on creating a face covering or social distancing mandate, deferring the issue to airlines – despite previous concerns from the CDC’s top doctors. Earlier in the summer of 2020, the DOT denied a petition to require face coverings on all forms of transportation, saying “there should be no more regulations than necessary.”
Why do stupid people like to make anything related to COVID political? It doesn't matter who will win or lose the election, COVID will not be gone in the next 4 months. If people would listen to the SCIENCE, they would wear masks. Delta got it right - they announced today that so far they have added almost 500 people to their no-fly list due to refusing to wear a mask on a flight. Those of you who don't think a mask is necessary, please stay away from Delta! I will be wearing an N95 mask on any flight I board, whether it is required or not... mainly because I'm an educated guy who used to work in a hospital around people with respiratory diseases. So all we know for sure is that this death occurred on a plane and it is unknown if face masks were required. It seems to me that at least the airline name should be provided to the public - the fact that the death was recorded in Dallas and they didn't disclose the airline makes me suspect it may have been Southwest (they're protecting their own).
@hervepa Sounds like you support censorship and Soviet Pravda tactics. Thanks for revealing who you really are.
Moderators need to to delete anti-science stuff in this thread from JJMoore, vargha, and OZFLYER86
jjmoore - During your surgery ask all the staff not to use masks. See how that works for you. Try reading JAMA, the Lancet, and CDC/WHO articles. Lots of free online medical dictionaries to help sort out what you don't understand. The characteristic of someone who can't argue is they use trump as a reference.
@tkelvin69 There are a couple characteristics of a liberal losing an argument. 1 - They resort to name calling. 2 - They refuse to reference factual information to contradict the argument at hand (because there isn't any in this case). I recommend you go do some research. See you back here when you find nothing to support your claim and are forced to admit that I am right.