Torres Concerns Over Wuhan Flight Bound for ONT Validated by Govt Watchdog Report

Press Release

Congresswoman Norma J. Torres (CA-35) today responded to the release of a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report she requested into the federal planning, coordination, and communication for a flight carrying Americans from Wuhan, China -- the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak -- originally bound for Ontario International Airport (ONT) in January 2020.

While ONT is an official repatriation center (a designated place for Americans in danger abroad to come home to safety), it is also at the heart of a highly populated region and the logistics hub for nearly every cargo shipment moving around the western United States. Landing a flight there, nearly two months before COVID spread widely in the United States, posed significant threats to the surrounding communities and logistics operations serving tens of millions of Americans.

Rep. Torres raised concerns about the lack of planning at the time:

"The gross incompetence on display here isn't just unacceptable -- it's dangerous to the public, who expect to turn to government officials to keep them safe and informed…[W]hat is clear is there was no plan in place in the event of worst-case outcomes, and that is completely unacceptable. My constituents deserve better than to be whipped into a frenzy over impending health threats and then left to scramble for what little information seeped out of the cracks."

The GAO report, which recommends specific policy changes for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), highlights the following concerns:

A lack of clarity as to which agency was in charge of the first repatriation flight;

Coordination issues among HHS component agencies;
A delay from HHS in issuing its federal quarantine order, during which time a repatriate tried to leave the quarantine facility;
Inconsistent use of personal protective equipment (PPE) by HHS personnel, and confusion about which agency was responsible for managing infection prevention and control.
Key excerpt from the report:

"The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) experienced coordination and safety issues that put repatriates, HHS personnel, and nearby communities at risk. This occurred because HHS component agencies--the Administration for Children and Families, the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention--did not follow plans or guidance delineating their roles and responsibilities for repatriating individuals during a pandemic--an event these agencies had never experienced. While they had general repatriation plans, there was disagreement as to whether the effort was in fact a repatriation. This led to fundamental problems for HHS agencies and their federal partners, including at the March Air Reserve Base quarantine facility in California where the first repatriated individuals were quarantined prior to widespread transmission of COVID-19 in the U.S."

The GAO report recommends that the Secretary of Health and Human Services make the following policy changes:

Revise or develop new emergency repatriation response plans to clarify agency roles and responsibilities during a pandemic; and
Plan and conduct repatriation exercises with relevant stakeholders -- including federal partners and state, local, and territorial governments -- to test repatriation plans in response to a pandemic.
Torres' objections in January 2020 successfully pressured the Trump Administration into diverting the flight to March Air Reserve Base, an unused airfield in the Riverside desert 30 miles away.

Congresswoman Torres released the following statement:

"This GAO report validates the concerns I raised last January when I requested an investigation -- that the federal government failed to plan for, or even consider, the safety hazards created when they chartered a flight from the heart of the COVID outbreak in Wuhan, China to a civilian airport within a highly populated community," Rep. Torres said. "This lack of foresight endangered Inland Empire residents, and threatened a shipping hub that millions of Americans rely on throughout the western United States. I'm pleased to see that the Government Accountability Office investigation was so responsive to the concerns we raised at the time, and I look forward to working with Secretary Becerra and the Biden Administration at large to make the report recommendations a reality."

A highlights page from the GAO report is available here.

The full GAO report is available here.

More information about Rep. Torres' efforts addressing this flight is available here:

Jan. 28, 2020: Torres Leads Local Lawmakers in Demanding Answers About Flight from Wuhan, China Arriving at ONT
Jan. 29, 2020: Torres Responds to Wuhan Flight Diversion Away from ONT
Jan. 30, 2020: Rep. Torres Requests Investigations into Coronavirus Flight

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