A government whistleblower has filed a complaint alleging some federal workers did not have the necessary protective gear or training when they were deployed to help Americans brough back from China during the coronavirus outbreak. The complaint deals with Health and Human Services Department employees sent to Travis and March Air Force bases in California to assist the quarantined evacuees. The Office of Special Counsel, a federal agency that investigates personnel issues, confirmed on Thursday it had received the unnamed whistleblower's complaint and has opened a case. Representative Jimmy Gomez said the whistleblower recently contacted his office, also alleging retaliation by higher-ups for having flagged safety issues. The Democrat's office said the complaint was filed by a high-ranking official at the Administration for Children and Families, an HHS social service agency. The whistleblower was among a team of about a dozen employees from the agency who had been deployed to help connect the evacuees with government assistance that they might qualify for to ease their return. The team was there from mid-January until earlier this month. Although team members had gloves at times and at other times masks, they lacked full protective gear and received no training on how to protect themselves in a viral hot zone, according to a description provided by the congressional office. They had no respirators. While helping the evacuees, team members noticed that workers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention were in full gear to protect them from getting sick. Gomez's office said the high-ranking whistleblower complained to superiors and was given the choice of being reassigned or being fired. Gomez said as far as he knew none of the workers from the agency had become infected. Without referring directly to the complaint, Gomez questioned HHS Secretary Alex Azar about the situation during a congressional hearing on Thursday. "Were any of these ACF employees exposed to high-risk evacuees?" asked Gomez, adding it was his understanding that "it was kind of chaotic on the ground" when the team was sent to California. Azar responded that he was not aware of any violation of protective practices. "I'd want to know the full facts and would take appropriate remedial measures," he said. If one of the HHS workers had become infected, that person could then have unwittingly infected others, Gomez said. HHS did not respond to requests for comment. Australian Associated Press
Travis Air Force Base is at the centre of claims about health workers' potential COVID-19 exposure.
A government whistleblower has filed a complaint alleging some federal workers did not have the necessary protective gear or training when they were deployed to help Americans brough back from China during the coronavirus outbreak.
The complaint deals with Health and Human Services Department employees sent to Travis and March Air Force bases in California to assist the quarantined evacuees.
The Office of Special Counsel, a federal agency that investigates personnel issues, confirmed on Thursday it had received the unnamed whistleblower's complaint and has opened a case.
Representative Jimmy Gomez said the whistleblower recently contacted his office, also alleging retaliation by higher-ups for having flagged safety issues.
The Democrat's office said the complaint was filed by a high-ranking official at the Administration for Children and Families, an HHS social service agency.
The whistleblower was among a team of about a dozen employees from the agency who had been deployed to help connect the evacuees with government assistance that they might qualify for to ease their return.
The team was there from mid-January until earlier this month.
Although team members had gloves at times and at other times masks, they lacked full protective gear and received no training on how to protect themselves in a viral hot zone, according to a description provided by the congressional office.
They had no respirators. While helping the evacuees, team members noticed that workers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention were in full gear to protect them from getting sick.
Gomez's office said the high-ranking whistleblower complained to superiors and was given the choice of being reassigned or being fired.
Gomez said as far as he knew none of the workers from the agency had become infected.
Without referring directly to the complaint, Gomez questioned HHS Secretary Alex Azar about the situation during a congressional hearing on Thursday.
"Were any of these ACF employees exposed to high-risk evacuees?" asked Gomez, adding it was his understanding that "it was kind of chaotic on the ground" when the team was sent to California.
Azar responded that he was not aware of any violation of protective practices.
"I'd want to know the full facts and would take appropriate remedial measures," he said.
If one of the HHS workers had become infected, that person could then have unwittingly infected others, Gomez said.
