WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 28th February, 2020) Several workers with US Health and Human Services (HHS) assisted coronavirus evacuees from China without the proper gear to protect them from possible exposure to the disease and then went home without being tested, the Washington Post reported.
The report said on Thursday, citing a whistleblower complaint from a senior HHS official, that the US health agency sent more than 12 workers to assist about 200 Americans repatriated from China due to the novel coronavirus outbreak without equipping them with the proper protective gear or training to avoid spread of the virus.
The report said the workers did not show symptoms of the infection, however, they were not tested for the virus prior to going home. These workers returned to their normal duties after receiving the coronavirus evacuees in early February, the report said adding that some of them took commercial flights around the country to return to their assigned offices.
Among the evacuees were Americans repatriated from Wuhan province in China, where the virus originated.
In addition, the HHS official who filed the complaint is seeking protection from the government after she raised these safety concerns with other officials, the report said.
The official was reassigned after she brought up these safety issues and was told on February 19 that she would be fired if she did not accept the new position by March 5, the report said.
An HHS spokesperson, according to the report, said they are reviewing the complaint.
Earlier on Thursday, US media reported that a new coronavirus case in the United States may be the first to be of an unknown origin. Federal and state officials have been unable to trace the point of exposure for a woman who contracted the novel coronavirus in northern California.
As of Wednesday, the number of US citizens diagnosed with the novel coronavirus stood at 59, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As of Thursday, more than 82,000 people have contracted the novel coronavirus worldwide of which some 2,800 have died and more than 33,000 have recovered.
According to Johns Hopkins University's online coronavirus tracker, as of Thursday 60 cases have been confirmed in the United States, of which six people have recovered.
