Ethan Weiss, a San Francisco-based cardiologist, was worried.
For the past two weeks, Weiss had been in New York, the epicenter of the U.S. coronavirus outbreak, volunteering at hospitals to help care for patients infected with the novel virus. But as Weiss tells it, he was about to face an even more daunting task this weekend: the plane trip back to San Francisco.
On Saturday, the doctor’s fears were confirmed when he and 25 other medical professionals found themselves on a jam-packed flight from Newark to San Francisco — despite a previous assurance from United that social distancing measures would be in place.
“I guess @united is relaxing their social distancing policy these days? Every seat full on this 737,” Weiss tweeted, sharing a picture of the jam-packed plane.
Though everyone in the image appears to be wearing some sort of face covering, Weiss wrote in a now-viral Twitter thread that the rows of people sitting shoulder-to-shoulder did not align with an email he received from United before Saturday’s flight saying that middle seats would be left open to ensure passengers can keep their distance.
We are about to land & I just wanted to say a few things. 1) people on this plane are scared/ shocked. 2) I have no idea why most of them are traveling. 3)I am with a group of 25 nurses and doctors who have been working in NYC hospitals for the past 2-4 weeks. We are coming home
— Ethan Weiss (@ethanjweiss) May 9, 2020
In a statement to USA Today, a United spokeswoman stressed that the airline has taken a number of safety precautions amid the ongoing pandemic.
“We’ve overhauled our cleaning and safety procedures and implemented a new boarding and deplaning process to promote social distancing,” said spokeswoman Kimberly Gibbs said in an email. Gibbs added that “all passengers and employees were asked to wear face coverings, consistent with our new policy.”
Weiss’ tweets sparked outcry on social media, leaving many concerned that social distancing efforts on airplanes would be abandoned as the country continues reopening and more people begin traveling again. On Friday, ahead of Mother’s Day weekend, the Transportation Security Administration reported that more than 215,000 people passed through checkpoints, the highest number of travelers since March 25.
