UNEXPLAINED

Report: U.S. Evacuates More Staffers From China Over Mystery Illness

U.S. diplomats in Shanghai and Beijing have reportedly been brought back for testing.

The State Department has evacuated nearly a dozen American personnel from China in connection with the mysterious illness that has already left one staffer with a mild traumatic brain injury, The New York Times reports. The unexplained ailment, which first prompted evacuations at the U.S. consulate in Guangzhou in April, may also have affected U.S. personnel in Beijing and Shanghai. An official quoted by the Times on Saturday said one employee from the respective consulates in each of those cities had been flown back to the U.S. for medical testing after undergoing examinations when the first strange symptoms were reported. At least eight Americans associated with the consulate in Guangzhou have also reportedly been evacuated, more than double the number first disclosed by the State Department. American authorities have yet to determine the cause of the illness, which closely resembles the so-called sonic attacks that prompted a wave of evacuations in Cuba in 2016. Chinese authorities have denied involvement and are said to be cooperating with a review ordered by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo into the “unexplained health incidents.”