RivCo Residents Placed At Risk During Wuhan Evacuation: GAO

RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA — On January 29, 2020, the first flight of U.S. evacuees from Wuhan, China, arrived at March Air Reserve Base in Riverside County amid the COVID-19 pandemic. There were approximately 200 people on board the state department-chartered aircraft.

A U.S. government report released Monday showed there was much confusion over that repatriation effort. As a result, the health of Riverside County residents was placed at risk.

"The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) experienced coordination and safety issues that put repatriates, HHS personnel, and nearby communities at risk," the U.S. Government Accountability Office report found. "Until HHS revises or develops new plans that clarify agency roles and responsibilities during a repatriation in response to a pandemic, confusion during events similar to the HHS COVID-19 repatriation response will persist, and the risks to health and safety — including the spread of a potentially deadly infectious disease — will remain."

According to the report, lack of plans or guidance left officials unprepared to receive repatriates at March Air Reserve Base. Specific examples included in the report were:

—Coordination problems between the Department of Defense and HHS at March resulted in confusion and frustration because of the lack of guidance between the two agencies.

—Lack of clarity on what agency was in charge at March ARB.

—Disagreement over which agency was responsible for infection prevention and control.

—Inconsistent use of personal protection equipment.

—There was a delayed federal quarantine order, which meant health officials at March ARB had difficulty preventing repatriates from leaving the facility. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention did not issue the federal quarantine order until two days after repatriates first arrived at March ARB. One repatriate attempted to leave the base during that time. CDC initially requested repatriates voluntarily quarantine themselves at March ARB for 72 hours, and then on January 31 the agency issued a 14-day mandatory quarantine order.

The report found the March ARB effort was not an isolated case.

After the March ARB arrivals, another four flights departed from Wuhan, China, to the U.S. between February 5 and February 7. HHS quarantined the repatriates at DOD facilities in California, Texas, and Nebraska.

In total, HHS assisted in the repatriation and quarantine of 808 U.S. citizens from Wuhan, China. HHS also assisted in the repatriation and quarantine of 329 U.S. citizens from the Diamond Princess cruise ship, and the GAO report uncovered problems.

For example, U.S. officials repatriated COVID-19-positive patients from the Diamond Princess cruise ship, which contradicted CDC guidance regarding who should be allowed on repatriation flights. As ship passengers were being bused to Tokyo to board flights back to the United States, U.S. officials learned some of those people tested positive for COVID-19 yet were asymptomatic. Despite having the virus, they were allowed to board planes back to the U.S. alongside people who had negative tests, the report found.

Read the full GAO report here.

Monday's report follows a whistleblower complaint from February 2o2o that has since sparked investigations.