Report Contents
Summary of Review
OIG undertook this review in response to a request made in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (P.L. 116-260). The request, detailed in the House Committee on Appropriations report (House Report 116-444), directed OIG to assess the Department of State’s (Department) handling of repatriation1 flights from Wuhan, China, in response to the COVID19 pandemic in early 2020. Congress asked that the review include the Department’s interagency coordination, its coordination with state and local officials, its communication with the general public, and its implementation of screening and quarantine protocols for those on the Wuhan evacuation flights. OIG also reviewed the Department’s communication with Congress and the extent to which the Department conducted lessons learned reviews or other internal assessments following the Wuhan evacuation flights to improve future pandemic emergency preparedness. Overall, OIG concluded that the Department carried out evacuations of over 800 Americans and others from Wuhan effectively and in accordance with applicable policies and guidelines.
OIG found Department personnel coordinated with interagency partners at numerous levels in Washington and in China in planning and carrying out the Wuhan evacuation flights. However, the Department struggled to deliver accurate flight manifests to partner agencies. It later initiated action to study and address the flight manifest process. Furthermore, OIG determined the Department had limited interaction with state and local government officials because Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) had primary responsibility for arrangements at the United States ports of entry and related coordination.
OIG found the Department faced challenges in communicating with American citizens in China, due to Chinese Government internet restrictions, and ultimately used a Chinese web application, WeChat, as a way to communicate effectively, despite those challenges. The Department later recognized the need to assess its use of social media for communicating during a crisis and stated an intention to study the problem. Limited Chinese language skills among consular officers also presented communication challenges to evacuation efforts.
OIG found the Department coordinated with Congress in a variety of ways regarding the Wuhan evacuation flights. However, the Department and other agencies did not provide information about the arrival destination of the first evacuation flight to members of the congressional delegation from California, where the flight ultimately landed. OIG determined this failure to share arrival information was a result of changing circumstances on the ground and interagency decisions to postpone a briefing while the destination was unconfirmed and arrival arrangements were unclear.
With respect to screening and quarantine protocols, OIG found the Department disseminated and implemented medical guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in screening passengers for fever on all five evacuation flights. Following the Wuhan evacuations, the Department conducted several lessons-learned exercises.
In carrying out its review, OIG made three observations that, if addressed, could help improve the Department’s handling of evacuations in the future: (1) the role of the Department’s crisis manager needs further definition, (2) preparation of flight manifests needs more attention, and (3) use of social media during crises needs improvement. These observations are discussed in more detail in the report. This information report does not contain any recommendations. Although this report does not contain any recommendations, OIG provided a draft of this report to Department stakeholders for their review and comment on the findings. The Department’s complete response can be found in Appendix B. The Department’s technical comments were incorporated into the report, as appropriate.2
1 Throughout this report, OIG refers to the evacuation and repatriation of official Americans, American citizens and others from Wuhan, China, as “evacuations.” Language in 22 U.S.C. § 4802(b) describes the overall responsibility of the Secretary of State to “develop and implement policies and programs to provide for the safe and efficient evacuation of United States Government personnel, dependents, and private United States citizens when their lives are endangered.”
2 OIG also provided the CDC with relevant portions of the draft report for its review. OIG incorporated the CDC’s technical comments into the report, as appropriate.