(Photo: Xinhua)

A whistleblower at the Department of Health and Human Services is seeking federal protection after complaining that more than a dozen workers who received the first Americans evacuated from Wuhan, China, lacked proper training or protective gear for coronavirus infection control, CNN reported.

"We are hopeful that Congress and the OSC will investigate this case in a timely and comprehensive manner," Ari Wilkenfeld, a lawyer for the whistleblower, told CNN. "This matter concerns HHS's response to the coronavirus, and its failure to protect its employees and potentially the public. The retaliatory efforts to intimidate and silence our client must be opposed."