CHICAGO (NewsNation Now) — An EMT says he has symptoms of COVID-19 after performing CPR on a man who went into cardiac arrest on a flight.
Tony Aldapa says his training kicked in and he didn’t think twice about jumping into action when he saw a passenger in distress on a flight from Orlando to Los Angeles on Dec. 14.
Aldapa and two other healthcare workers treated the man as the plane made an emergency landing.
The passenger was taken to a Louisiana hospital where he later died.
An autopsy found the 69-year-old Los Angeles man died of acute respiratory failure and confirmed he was infected with COVID-19.
Aldapa and two other health care workers treated the man as the plane made an emergency landing in New Orleans.
Aldapa told CNN on Monday that he had tested negative for coronavirus twice and was waiting to take a third test on Tuesday. His planned vaccination was postponed because of his symptoms, he said.
The results of his Tuesday test are unclear.
He told CNN he works the night shift at the Veterans Administration medical center, which is in West Los Angeles.
United Airlines says they gave the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention the flight manifest to warn passengers of the potential exposure.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
