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Texas woman died of coronavirus 'on the jetway' on flight from Arizona

“It became difficult for her to breathe and they tried to give her oxygen,” an official said. “It was not successful."
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A Texas woman in her 30s died of Covid-19 while flying home from Arizona this summer, officials said Monday.

Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins told NBC Dallas-Fort Worth that the woman died in July, but that officials just learned of her official cause of death.

“It became difficult for her to breathe, and they tried to give her oxygen,” he told the station. “It was not successful. She died on the jetway.”

The woman, who was from the Dallas suburb of Garland, had underlying health conditions, according to a Dallas County news release. Additional information about her was not immediately available.

The disclosure comes as case counts continued to rise in 25 states, according to a 14-day average maintained by the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center. The data showed that new cases jumped in Texas last week after a dip the week before.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has continued relaxing coronavirus restrictions, with an executive order earlier this month allowing some bars to reopen at half capacity.

Jenkins criticized the move Monday, saying it can make people believe it’s safe to have friends over.

“We keep jumping the gun, and it puts us back in a situation which hurts public health and businesses and schools,” he told NBC Dallas-Fort Worth.

Experts have warned of a possible “third peak” of coronavirus cases as the holidays approach with what Dr. Carlos del Rio, an infectious diseases expert at the Emory University School of Medicine, described as six possible superspreader events.

“We can see a lot of disease happening,” he said.