Daily Archives: February 18, 2020

Two Charter Flights From #DiamondPrincess Depart Tokyo, Few “High Risk” Patients Now in Nebraska

February 18, 2020 By in Americans Abroad, Consular Work, EAP|East Asia, Evacuations, MEDical, Realities of the FS, State Department, Trends, U.S. Missions Tags: , , , , , , ,

 

The U.S.  Embassy in Tokyo announced that on February 17 at 0705 JST, two charter flights carrying passengers from the Diamond Princess cruise ship departed Tokyo en route to the United States.
This letter was sent to American passengers and crew on Sunday morning. It includes details on the repatriation operation as well as information for those who opts not to board. Letter in part says “Based on the high number of COVID-19 cases identified onboard the Diamond Princess, the Department of Health and Human Services made an assessment that passengers and crew members onboard are at high risk of exposure. Given this assessment, the U.S. Government is chartering these flights to minimize the risks to your health going forward.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also released a statement on repatriation of American passengers and crew.
The letter further notes that passengers on the chartered aircraft will be quarantined in the United States at Travis Air Force Base in Fairfield, California or Lackland Air Force Base near San Antonio, Texas for 14 days upon arrival. However, it looks like the two flights initially landed in California and Texas, then proceeded to Nebraska with a few patients considered “high risk.”. One local report says that “13 Americans who were on the cruise ship in Japan arrived in Omaha today.”

Inbox: Munich Security Conference – Coronavirus Policy #Covid19

February 18, 2020 By in Americans Abroad, MEDical, Org Life, Realities of the FS, State Department, U.S. Missions Tags: , , , ,
We got this recently in our inbox. The Munich Security Conference was Feb 14, 2020 – Feb 16, 2020. Sender A notes that this was written anonymously for fear of retribution:

Although CDC website states, “For the general American public, who are unlikely to be exposed to this virus, the immediate health risk from 2019-nCoV is considered low at this time,” there is nothing “general” about the Munich Security Conference [MSC] and its Corornavirus policy. 

Multiple congressional delegations and US senior officials will spend 2-4 days in a small, tightly-packed hotel with over 1,000 people (imagine a small cruise ship) at the Bayerischer Hof – the MSC venue.  All the while, this venue is open to participants coming directly from China and participants who may have recently traveled to China.  Given the prestige around attending MSC, it would be naive to assume that none of the MSC participants downplayed their travels to and around China simply to secure entry into Germany.

If anyone from the USG contracts the coronavirus as a result of attending MSC, will they be eligible for workers compensation? High level USG officials had a choice to attend or not attend MSC (and thereby risk contracting coronavirus); the staff they dragged along not so much.  Will US citizens who attend this conference, including all senators, be tested for coronavirus upon arrival into the US? Or do the rest of us have to hope they don’t inadvertently bring this virus back with them? 

Perhaps it is time for State Department’s Office of Medical Service to publish its so-called assessment of MSC/coronavirus risk.  The one that was passed around to everyone.  To say it utterly failed to take into account the impact of working in close quarters over multiple days in an enclosed space that welcomes participants who have just come from or recently traveled to China is an understatement.  Considering this virus spreads even when a carrier has no symptoms, if a similar event is to take place on US soil, does the State Department plan to hand out travel waivers to all foreign government officials who have just come from or recently traveled to China?

Deputy Secretary Stephen E. Biegun’s Ceremonial Swearing-In Ceremony

February 18, 2020 By in Pompeo, Secretary of State, State Department, Top Ranks Tags: , ,

Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo officiates the ceremonial swearing-in ceremony for Deputy Secretary of State Stephen E. Biegun, at the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C., on January 17, 2020. [State Department photo by Freddie Everett/ Public Domain]

Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo poses for a photo with Deputy Secretary of State Stephen E. Biegun and his family, at the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C., on January 17, 2020. [State Department photo by Freddie Everett/ Public Domain]