Trump Was Furious That Cruise Ship Passengers With Coronavirus Were Brought Back to U.S. [View all]

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https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/22/us/politics/trump-coronavirus-cruise-ship.html

Trump Was Furious That Cruise Ship Passengers With Coronavirus Were Brought Back to U.S.
State Department officials flew back more than 300 passengers from the Diamond Princess cruise ship, including 14 American citizens who tested positive for the virus. The move took Mr. Trump by surprise.

WASHINGTON — President Trump was infuriated that 14 American citizens who had tested positive for coronavirus were permitted to return this week to the United States, said two senior administration officials. The decision had taken the president, a self-declared “germophobe,” by surprise.

Officials at the State Department decided to bring back the citizens, who had been quarantined on the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan, after consulting with a senior official at the Department of Health and Human Services. But officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention objected, concerned that the passengers, among hundreds of Americans being evacuated from the ship, could spread the virus. News organizations reported on the decision on Monday, and the passengers arrived in the United States that day.

Mr. Trump, furious at not having been briefed on the Americans who had tested positive, relayed his anger to Alex M. Azar II, the health and human services secretary, and other top officials. They then alerted the White House interagency task force on the coronavirus, which Mr. Azar oversees. One official said Mr. Trump views shutting the borders to infected people as critical to keeping the country safe and wants to be seen as managing a proper response.