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Federal health employees interacted with Americans quarantined for possible exposure to the coronavirus without proper medical training or protective gear, then scattered into the general population, according to a government whistle-blower who lawmakers say faced retaliation for reporting concerns. The team was “improperly deployed” to two military bases in California to assist the processing of Americans who had been evacuated from coronavirus hot zones in China and elsewhere, according to a portion of a narrative account shared with Congress and obtained by The New York Times ahead of a formal complaint to the Office of the Special Counsel, an independent government agency that handles federal whistle-blower complaints. (Cochrane, Weiland and Sanger-Katz, 2/27)

The whistleblower is seeking federal protection, alleging she was unfairly and improperly reassigned after raising concerns about the safety of these workers to HHS officials, including those within the office of Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar. She was told Feb. 19 that if she does not accept the new position in 15 days, which is March 5, she would be terminated. (Sun and Abutaleb, 2/27)

Employees didn’t receive prior safety training relevant to the California assignment, the whistleblower alleges, according to the person familiar with the complaint. The employee who filed the complaint said she declined to go to one of the quarantine sites and was then reassigned for raising concerns about employee safety, according to the person familiar with the complaint. (Armour and Andrews, 2/27)

An HHS spokesperson said whistleblower complaints are taken very seriously, and that the department is “providing the complainant all appropriate protections under the Whistleblower Protection Act. We are evaluating the complaint and have nothing further to add at this time.” Two people with knowledge of the situation told POLITICO the whistleblower’s claims were accurate. (Cancryn and Diamond, 2/27)

The workers exhibited no symptoms indicated they were infected, and they weren't tested, according to the complaint, which cited the whistleblower's lawyer. The whistleblower, a decorated employee who works at HHS in the Administration for Children and Families, claims she was reassigned unfairly after she brought up her concerns about the safety of the workers. After she made the report, the Post reported, she was told that if she didn't accept her new position within 15 days, she would be terminated. (2/27)