A number of things happened over the next few weeks. Acting President Reed won the special election and began preparations to evacuate anyone in the affected states to elsewhere in the country. This was after the CDC determined that A, the people weren't contagious, and B, there were no remnants of the so-called death cloud present. Clean-up of the deceased would take months, if not years. The delayed decomposition of the bodies was of great assistance there. After that, the area would be opened