The U.S. government has flown back nearly 90,000 people who found themselves stranded abroad amid the coronavirus pandemic, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
“As of May 13th, [U.S. Customs and Border Protection], in close coordination with the @StateDept’s Repatriation Task Force, has facilitated the return of 87,770 U.S citizens back to the U.S. from 135 countries during the #coronavirus pandemic.” acting DHS Secretary Chad Wolf wrote in a Tuesday tweet.
The Trump administration has used a variety of resources to bring U.S. citizens back, including tasking Immigration and Customs Enforcement planes that had been used to deport immigrants to then transport Americans back into the country on return flights.
As of early April, approximately 37,000 people had voluntarily returned to the United States before new travel restrictions were imposed against European countries. Roughly 17,000 of them were flown back on commercial rescue flights that the State Department coordinated with U.S.-based airlines, the Washington Examiner reported.
Americans returning to the states must use one of 13 designated airports, where they will pass through customs checkpoints and be asked about their health. DHS Office of Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction has overseen the process. As of Friday, DHS has processed 296,720 travelers and referred 1,516 people to the specialists from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for additional medical evaluations.
As of Tuesday, the U.S. reported 1.5 million confirmed cases and more than 90,000 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University’s tracker.
