Newsman: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is suspending non-U.S. passport holder’s entry into the U.S. for 30 days, travelers who have visited areas where there is an ongoing outbreak of the Ebola virus, the agency announced on Monday. The restriction does not apply to U.S. citizens, U.S. nationals or lawful permanent residents returning from Ebola outbreak areas.
Over the weekend, the World Health Organization declared the outbreak a “public health emergency of international concern.” The declaration, which is a lower designation than the pandemic emergency that was declared for Covid-19, is intended to promote international cooperation and mobilize resources to the outbreak.
As of May 16, WHO said there have been 246 suspected cases and 80 suspected deaths reported in Ituri Province of the DRC, and two laboratory-confirmed cases in Uganda tied to travel from the DRC.
In a statement The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention posted to its website, the agency said it would impose “entry restrictions” on passengers who do not hold a U.S. passport if they have been to Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo or South Sudan in the previous 21 days. Those restrictions, issued under a Title 42 order, a policy that allows the U.S. to deny certain individuals entry into the country to protect public health, will be in effect for one month.
The restrictions come the same day that the CDC confirmed on a call with reporters that one American has tested positive for Ebola. The person was exposed “as part of their work in the Democratic Republic of the Congo,” said Satish K. Pillai, the incident manager for CDC’s Ebola response.
That individual is being transported to Germany for treatment, Pillai added, citing the shorter flight time and Germany’s “previous experience for caring for Ebola patients.”
The CDC is also enhancing screening and monitoring of people coming from Ebola outbreak areas and is coordinating with airlines, international partners and port-of-entry officials to identify individuals who may have been exposed to the virus.
CDC regularly issues travel guidance during infectious disease outbreaks. The agency still considers the risk to the general public in the U.S. to be low.
The outbreak is caused by the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, which has no approved vaccine or treatments. The world health organization (WHO) estimates the strain has a 30 to 50 percent fatality rate, based on two prior Bundibugyo outbreaks. The disease, which is spread through contact with bodily fluids, causes flu-like symptoms followed by diarrhea, vomiting and unexplained bleeding.
On the Monday call, the CDC said it had approximately 25 individuals in the CDC’s DRC country office and was sending a senior technical coordinator at the DRC’s request to aid the outbreak response.
