PITTSBURGH (Newsradio 1020 KDKA) - During a discussion about COVID-19 pandemic, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told Wendy Bell on KDKA Radio on Wednesday the U.S. doesn't have any immediate plans to close embassies around the world.
"We initially brought all of our people home from Wuhan, China, we had a consulate there; we brought everyone out of that location - it was not someplace we could stay, but I think at this point we're comfortable that at least our presence can continue in each of these embassies," he said.
"It's important when you've got Americans traveling abroad and working abroad, that you have someone there; that they can at least talk to an American, get a friendly voice and then begin to get assistance if they get themselves to a place where they really need it."
As the coronavirus outbreak began to spread worldwide and travel restrictions went into place, Pompeo said the State Department began efforts to get U.S. citizens from around the world back home to America. "When travel started shutting down; when buses and rail lines and countries started closing their borders, we found that there were tens of thousands of Americans stranded all across the world. The State Department team dug in and built out a system and we've now brought back a little over fifty thousand Americans to their families from 90 countries."
Listen to the full interview below.
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