A Texas woman died of coronavirus sometime in July while aboard an airplane awaiting takeoff, authorities said on Monday. The woman was in her 30s and was flying from Arizona to Texas. The flight staff attended to the woman but couldn't save her. However, no further details about the woman have been shared by the officials.
The news comes amid fresh cases of coronavirus which continue to rise in 25 states in the United States, according to a 14-day average maintained by the John Hopkins Coronavirus Research Center. Texas has been one of the worst affected states in the United States with more cases being reported every day.
Tragic Death
According to officials, the unidentified woman was a Dallas suburb of Garland, resident. She had "underlying high-risk health conditions" and died while waiting inside. The plane was reportedly parked on the apron when the woman began having difficulty breathing. Flight attendants immediately attended to her and gave her oxygen.
However, the woman died on the jetway, Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins stated in a news release on Monday. Additional information about her was not immediately available. According to The Hill, it is still unclear if the woman knew that she had been infected with the virus before boarding the July 25 flight from Arizona to Texas.
Jenkins also mentioned that Dallas County officials were not informed that coronavirus was the cause of the woman's death till a few days ago. The death remained accounted as a normal case. "I would strongly encourage people to not think they're invincible from COVID because they don't think they're in a high-risk category," Jenkins said.
Coronavirus Grips Texas
Officials finally said on Monday that the woman's case was confirmed as a Covid-19 death. However, no investigation has been launched, officials said. The news comes amid growing cases of coronavirus in Texas. Data shows new cases jumped in Texas last week after a dip the week before.
Dallas County has reported nearly 90,000 cases of Covid-19 and 1,085 deaths, according to the county. The woman's death once again proved how fatal the virus is. Despite that, Texas Governor Greg Abbott has been relaxing coronavirus restrictions. He has even allowed some bars to reopen at half capacity but that has been criticized by many. "This is a reminder that there is no age restriction in COVID," Jenkins said.
