Health officials flooded the CDC with hundreds of phone calls and emails. Many questions went unanswered. In other cases, the agency response amounted to you decide.
In Nevada, the state’s top infectious disease scientist called the CDC begging for a list of travelers coming from China. A flustered agency representative hung up on her.
In Kentucky, a CDC official recommended that visitors continue to be allowed into nursing homes because they might not get another chance to visit family members. In an email, he wrote, “Let people choose.”