Texas health officials confirmed that a woman in her thirties died of COVID-19 while on a plane.
The woman — who was only identified as a resident of Garland, Texas — died while the plane was still on the tarmac in Arizona, Dallas County official Lauren Trimble told BuzzFeed News.
Officials did not confirm if the woman knew she had COVID-19 before boarding the flight and it is unclear which airline she was on.
Before the woman died, she had trouble breathing and was given oxygen. A Dallas County health report revealed the woman had “underlying high-risk health conditions.”
The woman died on July 25, but the county wasn’t notified that it was a COVID-19–related death until early October, a Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins told NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth.
Jenkins said that the woman’s death is a reminder that COVID-19 can affect younger people as well.
“I would strongly encourage people [not to think] they’re invincible from COVID because they don’t think they’re in a high-risk category,” he said.
As of Oct. 20, Dallas County has reported more than 94,000 confirmed cases and a total of 1,194 reported deaths.
Jenkins expressed frustration that Gov. Greg Abbott has loosened statewide restrictions just as new cases begin to decline.
“What happens with that is people hear that, they may not be going to a bar but they think it’s now safe to have friends over to watch the Cowboys game or do something else they want to do,” he said. “We keep jumping the gun and it puts us back in a situation which hurts public health and businesses and schools.”