Under a veil of enforced secrecy, organizers staged the Crimson Contagion exercise nationwide at over 100 centers. “Participation included 19 federal departments and agencies, 12 key states, 15 tribal nations and pueblos, 74 local health department and coalition regions, 87 hospitals, and over 100 healthcare and public health private sector partners.”235 The simulation scenario envisioned a “novel influenza” pandemic originating in China labeled H7N9. As with COVID-19, air travelers rapidly spread the deadly respiratory illness across the globe.
