Trump was ‘furious’ that 14 Americans infected with coronavirus boarded a plane back to the US from Japan without his permission which official admits was a ‘big mistake’
President Trump is furious that infected evacuees were flown back to US
Decision was made on the fly after infections were confirmed at last minute
US evacuated 328 passengers from coronavirus cruise ship in Japan last week
But infected cases were supposed to remain in Japan for treatment locally
State Department overruled CDC and decided to bring the 14 back anyway
Trump reportedly blasted aides for not telling him, saying he disagreed
By KEITH GRIFFITH
DAILYMAIL.COM
22 February 2020
President Donald Trump is reportedly furious after underlings at the State Department decided to fly 14 Diamond Princess passengers who tested positive for coronavirus back to the U.S. without telling him, and against his wishes.
Trump had been told last Saturday that only evacuees who didn’t have symptoms or positive test results would be allowed on State Department charter planes back to the US from Japan, according to the Washington Post.
Officials on the ground realized late in the evacuation process, on the airport tarmac in Tokyo, that 14 of the roughly 350 evacuees had tested positive for the virus.
State Department underlings made the quick decision to allow the infected citizens onto the flights, but separated from the other passengers within portable bio-containment units that were already on the planes, in case passengers showed symptoms during the flight.
Trump learned of the decision only after the fact and was angry that he wasn’t consulted first, complaining that the decision could damage his administration’s handling of the response, administration officials told the Post.
Some members of the coronavirus task force back in Washington were not told in advance that the infected people would be placed on the plane, and learned about it only after the plane was on its way back to the U.S.
One senior White House official said not informing Trump of the decision ahead of time was a ‘big operational mistake.’
Trump has since expressed in outrage on phone calls with top White House officials, saying he should have been told, that it should have been his decision — and that he did not agree with the decision that was made.
All of the Diamond Princess passengers who returned to the U.S. are currently under a 14-day mandatory quarantine on military bases in California and Texas.
On Friday, the CDC said there were now 28 U.S. residents brought home from the Diamond Princess cruise ship who have tested positive for the virus.
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