US health workers without proper protective gear may have been exposed to the coronavirus when meeting evacuees, a whistleblower has alleged.

Officials at the department of health and human services (HHS) sent at least a dozen workers to receive the first Americans evacuated from the Chinese city of Wuhan, without providing them with adequate training or equipment, the formal complaint said.

It says the staff members were sent to Travis Air Force Base and March Air Reserve Base, both located in California, and told to ordered to enter quarantined areas where coronavirus evacuees were being received.

The complaint, whose existence was first revealed by the Washington Post and the New York Times, alleged, some of the exposed staff members moved freely the bases, with at least one person staying in a nearby hotel.

“I soon began to field panicked calls from my leadership team and deployed staff members expressing concerns with the lack of H.H.S. communication and coordination, staff being sent into quarantined areas without personal protective equipment, training or experience in managing public health emergencies, safety protocols and the potential danger to both themselves and members of the public they come into contact with,” the whistleblower wrote.

Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty Show all 10 1 /10 Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty A man wearing a face mask crosses a road in Wuhan, the epicentre of the novel coronavirus outbreak. Reuters Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty A view of the empty entrance to the UniversitÃ Cattolica (Catholic University) in Milan, northern Italy, on 24 February, 2020. EPA Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty Empty streets in Daegu, South Korea, on 23 February, 2020. EPA Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty Empty streets in Daegu, South Korea, on 23 February 2020. EPA Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty A lone sanitation worker sits near the closed Hankou Railway Station in Wuhan, Hubei province, China, on February 24, 2020. Reuters Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty A view of a deserted street in Codogno, northern Italy, on February 23, 2020. EPA Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty Italian police officers set a road block in Codogno, Northern Italy, on Monday, Feb. 24, 2020. AP Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty A supermarket closed in Codogno, one the northern Italian towns placed under lockdown, on February 23, 2020. EPA Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty A lone cyclist wearing sanitary masks pedals in the center of Codogno, Northern Italy. LaPresse via AP Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty An empty road at the entrance of the small Italian town of Codogno on February 23, 2020. AFP via Getty

The Post said the woman was now seeking federal protection because she alleged she was unfairly and reassigned after raising concerns about the safety of these workers to HHS officials, including those within the office of health and human services secretary Alex Azar.

She was told on February 19 if she did not accept the new position in 15 days, she would be terminated, it said.

Reports said the workers did not show symptoms of infection and were not tested for the virus.

Jimmy Kimmel pummels Mike Pence on coronavirus

In a statement, HHS spokesperson Caitlin Oakley, said: “We take all whistleblower complaints very seriously and are providing the complainant all appropriate protections under the Whistleblower Protection Act.

“We are evaluating the complaint and have nothing further to add at this time.”

The existence of the complaint a day after Donald Trump played down the threat posed by the disease and disagreed with his own health experts who have warned it was inevitable that coronavirus would spread within the US.

“I don’t think it’s inevitable. I don’t think think it’s inevitable because we’re doing a really job at the borders and checking people coming in,” he said.

“I think there is a chance there could a substantial increase. But nothing is inevitable.”

Meanwhile, in California governor Gavin Newsom said more than 8,000 people in the state were being monitored for coronavirus infections.