Woman in Her 30s Died of Coronavirus While on a Flight

Passengers wait to disembark the plane on their arrival at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in Atlanta, on April 23, 2020.

On October 18, officials revealed that a Texas woman in her 30s died of COVID-19 in Arizona on a flight that was waiting to take off for Texas. While her death was reported by Dallas County on Sunday as a coronavirus death, the incident itself occurred on July 25. According to WFAA, Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins said the county had just been made aware of the case “a day or two ago.”

Jenkins told the outlet that the flight was heading from Arizona to Texas, and the Garland, Texas, woman would have contracted the virus in Arizona. “We don’t know a whole lot. We may not know if she was aware she was sick. Contact took place in Arizona,” Jenkins said.

The woman’s identity, the airline she was traveling on and other details have not been released.

The Woman, Who Had Underlying Health Conditions, Died on the Plane Before Takeoff

Dallas County reported that the woman, who was in her 30s, had underlying health conditions. Jenkins said the woman died on the plane before it had taken off, while it was still on the tarmac. She was “ill and having trouble breathing” and was given oxygen, Jenkins said, according to NBC DFW. Officials don’t yet know if the woman knew she had COVID-19.

“[This is a] reminder that there is no age restriction in COVID,” the judge added, according to WFAA. “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.”

Dallas County was only able to add the July death to its coronavirus statistics now because they didn’t initially know the cause of death. WFAA reported that the county was informed in August that a Texas resident from Dallas County died in Arizona, but the determination that the cause of death was COVID-19 was only shared this week, Jenkins said.