U.S. State Department expands health warning coverage throughout China

The U.S. State Department expanded its health warning in Friday from Guangzhou to cover all of China. “The State Department has received medical confirmation that a U.S. government employee in China is experiencing symptoms that coincide with the symptoms that other U.S. government personnel have experienced in Havana, Cuba,” the State Department said in an e-mail statement. The State Department has asked others to return to the United States for further assessment because of the need for additional voluntary medical screening.

U.S. State Department expands health warning coverage throughout China

“The U.S. State Department’s May statement only mentions the city of Guangzhou as a health warning, although the health warning was sent to all Americans in China,” the spokesman said.

The State Department said in Wednesday that the symptoms of a U.S. diplomat at the consulate in Guangzhou were similar to those of “suffering from concussion or minor brain trauma”, including “dizziness, headaches, tinnitus, cognitive and visual problems, sleep difficulties, etc.”

In 2016, 24 government employees of the U.S. Embassy in Havana, Cuba, had experienced similar health symptoms and were recalled to the United States for medical examinations and assessments. The United States Consulate General in Guangzhou has more than 100 diplomats.

But it is not clear how many people have been evacuated at the moment. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hua Chunying said in Thursday that the US side did not inform the Chinese side of the withdrawal.

China will continue to investigate and cooperate in a responsible manner, she said. She also said that China would earnestly implement its obligations under the Vienna Convention. The Convention requires governments to protect the diplomatic staff of other countries