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Coronavirus: US officials who helped evacuees lacked protective gear and training, claims whistleblower

When the officials voiced their concerns, the senior health administration officials allegedly dismissed them, accusing the officials of ruining staff 'morale'
PUBLISHED FEB 28, 2020
Evacuees were quarantined at the US military facilities including Travis (AP Photo/Hector Amezcua)
Evacuees were quarantined at the US military facilities including Travis (AP Photo/Hector Amezcua)

Officials from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) were not protected enough to receive the first Americans evacuated from China's Wuhan, alleges a US whistleblower.

She said that officials, who were assigned to help at the Travis and March Air Force bases in California, had not received proper training or protective gear, potentially heightening their risk for infection.

“I soon began to field panicked calls from my leadership team and deployed staff members expressing concerns with the lack of HHS communication and coordination, staff being sent into quarantined areas without personal protective equipment, training or experience in managing public health emergencies, safety protocols and the potential danger to both themselves and members of the public they come into contact with,” the whistleblower, an HHS official, wrote. 

When the HHS officials voiced their concerns, the senior health administration officials allegedly dismissed them, accusing the officials of ruining staff “morale" and even questioned their mental health and emotional stability,  according to the complainant.

After filing the complaint, the whistleblower was transferred to a new position and was told that she could risk losing her job if she turned it down. The woman then decided to seek federal protection under whistleblower statutes. 

The complaint deals with Health and Human Services Department employees sent to Travis Air Force Base in California to assist evacuees from China. (Nicholas Pilch/U.S. Air Force via AP)

In response, Caitlin B Oakley, a deputy assistant secretary and a national spokeswoman for the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs, told the New York Times, "We take all whistleblower complaints very seriously and are providing the complainant all appropriate protections under the Whistleblower Protection Act. We are evaluating the complaint and have nothing further to add at this time.”

During a coronavirus hearing on February 27 afternoon before the House Foreign Affairs Committee, William Walters, executive director and managing director for Operational Medicine in the Bureau of Medical Services at the State Department, said unequivocally that everyone involved with those evacuations was appropriately equipped and trained.

And another State Department official, Ian Brownlee, showed a photo of HHS workers in full hazmat suits as they dealt with people evacuated from the Diamond Princess cruise ship, which was sealed off in Japan.

In another hearing, Representative Jimmy Gomez, Democrat of California questioned Alex M Azar, the secretary of health and human services, whether any of the officials were exposed to high-risk evacuees from Wuhan without proper training. "There should have never been without appropriate Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). I am not aware of any violations of quarantines or isolation protocols," Azar said.

According to the New York Times, Gomez and  Richard E Neal, Democrat of Massachusetts and the chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, wrote to Azar, formally requesting a briefing within a week. They added that they were “deeply troubled that HHS seems to have ignored valid public health concerns” and retaliated against the whistleblower instead of taking action.

Ari Wilkenfeld, a lawyer for the whistleblower, told CNN that they are hopeful that Congress and the United States Office of Special Counsel (OSC) will fairly investigate the issue. "This matter concerns HHS' response to the coronavirus, and its failure to protect its employees and potentially the public. The retaliatory efforts to intimidate and silence our client must be opposed," he added.

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