US House Subcommittee: "Trump Administration's Inadequate Screening of Korean and Italian Travelers in Early March... Initial Response Flaws"

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] Regarding the response to the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), U.S. House of Representatives members claimed on the 7th (local time) that the Donald Trump administration did not properly conduct testing for travelers coming from Korea and Italy in March.

According to Politico and others, Raja Krishnamoorthi (Democrat, Illinois), chairman of the Economic and Consumer Policy Subcommittee of the House Oversight and Reform Committee, stated in a press release that although testing for all airline passengers was mandated after March 3, the U.S. administration relied on testing conducted by other countries without carrying out related activities at airports.

The U.S. State Department announced a medical testing policy for direct flights to the U.S. from airports in Korea and Italy on March 3, early in the COVID-19 outbreak, and on March 14, President Trump additionally announced a travel ban from Europe to the U.S. The Economic and Consumer Policy Subcommittee argued that passengers coming to the U.S. via these countries were excluded from testing, indicating a "significant gap" in the Trump administration's initial response.

The subcommittee also cited as evidence that only 56 and 13 people were blocked from boarding flights to the U.S. from Korea and Italy, respectively, over 11 days. Representative Krishnamoorthi stated, "After imposing health checks and travel bans on travelers from China in early February, President Trump said everything was under control, but in reality, the administration made no significant efforts to prevent the virus from entering through our airports until mid-March, missing a valuable opportunity to slow the spread through strengthened entry screening."

The House subcommittee investigating the Trump administration's initial response said that during the investigation, the State Department, Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which were involved in the testing policies at airports in Korea and Italy, failed to provide documentary evidence that testing was conducted as promised. They also did not receive clear explanations regarding the rationale for testing only passengers on direct flights while excluding those on connecting flights through these countries.

In response, the State Department explained that the decision was made by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), but a CBP official denied any involvement in limiting testing to direct flights.

Furthermore, Politico reported that during the investigation, it was confirmed that Korea proposed implementing comprehensive multi-stage testing to avoid travel bans like those imposed on China, and after internal discussions involving medical personnel, Korea's request was accepted. The State Department testified before the subcommittee that Korean airlines began temperature checks from February 28, and after the U.S. government announced testing plans at airports in Korea and Italy, a four-stage testing procedure was implemented.

Additionally, from March 5, thermal screening was added at departure halls and security checkpoints, and fever checks at boarding gates, with a survey introduced on March 11.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.