Americans returning from Ebola epicenter denied entry into US for 21 days… as highest
Americans seeking to return home from the Ebola-stricken Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) will be blocked from boarding their flights, administration officials have said.
Under new restrictions revealed Monday, any travelers – US citizens and non-citizens – flying to the US from the DRC are now required to wait 21 days in a third nation before entering America.
Those in Uganda and South Sudan, which are also recording an Ebola outbreak, are still able to return to the US provided they arrive at one of four US airports for enhanced screening.
The move came as the Trump administration tightened its travel advice for the DRC. The US Department of State issued a ‘Level 4: Do Not Travel’ advisory for the DRC due to ‘health, crime, unrest, terrorism and kidnapping.’
The notice added: ‘Due to the Ebola outbreak in the DRC, the Department of Homeland Security has implemented new restrictions under Title 49 of the US Code, which prevent US citizens and nationals who have been in the DRC within a 21-day period from boarding commercial flights into the United States.
‘Travelers who have been in the DRC within 21 days of their flight will not be allowed to board flights with US destinations. All US citizens and US nationals who have been in the DRC must remain outside the DRC for 21 days before boarding flights to the United States.’
The news also comes just three days after a second American citizen, a humanitarian worker, in the DRC tested positive for Ebola. They have now been flown to Germany for treatment.
In the first few days of the outbreak, an American doctor also in the DRC tested positive for the virus. They were also flown to Germany and have now recovered.
Workers wearing personal protective equipment during a training exercise ahead of being sent to the DRC
Shown above is a worker performing a temperature check on a woman in Goma, the DRC
The Ebola outbreak in the region is considered to be the fastest-growing ever, and has already sickened nearly 2,000 people and led to 719 deaths, according to the Africa Centres for Disease Control.
It is being caused by the rare Bundibugyo strain, which has an up to 50 percent mortality rate. There is no vaccine or treatment for the strain.
Also detailing the new restrictions, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said: ‘American citizens who are departing from the DRC may be subject to a DO NOT BOARD (DNB) order.
‘Americans are able to return to the United States 21 days after leaving the DRC.’
Previously, American citizens traveling to the US from the DRC had been allowed to return provided they went to one of four airports for screening.
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The four airports conducting screening are Washington-Dulles International Airport in Virginia, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in Georgia, George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Texas, and John F Kennedy International Airport in New York.
A State Department official told CBS News that they were aware of about two dozen US citizens who were set to board flights to the US.
Each is set to receive assistance during the 21-day wait period.
It is not clear how many Americans may still be in the DRC, but the CDC has at least two dozen employees at its office in the country.
The World Health Organization declared the Ebola outbreak an international emergency on May 17.
Since then, affected countries have struggled to get a hold on the virus in a region that can be difficult to reach. This month, health workers in the DRC fighting the outbreak went on strike, saying they had not been paid.
Ituri province in the DRC is at the epicenter of the outbreak. CDC officials maintain the risk to the general US public is low, but urged travelers to avoid areas with any sick individuals.
Cases have also been reported in neighboring Uganda, which recorded new infections last month, and South Sudan.
Beyond the region, France reported its first imported case of Ebola late last month in a doctor who had recently returned from a humanitarian mission to the region.
During the 2013 to 2016 Ebola outbreak in west Africa, the largest ever recorded that led to 28,600 cases and 11,000 deaths, the Obama administration did not implement a travel ban.
Instead, it only resorted to redirecting travelers who were in recently affected countries to certain airports for screening.
A worker in personal protective equipment pictured in DRC in mid-June
Under previous plans, the Trump administration also tried to offer quarantine to Americans returning from Ebola-affected countries in Kenya before allowing them to return home.
This was shelved, however, amid widespread protests in the country and a ruling from a Kenyan court which blocked the plan.
The CDC has also said travelers should watch for symptoms of Ebola for 21 days after leaving the DRC.
This is the 17th Ebola outbreak in the DRC, where the virus is endemic, since it was discovered in 1976, but only the third caused by the Bundibugyo strain.
The other two Bundibugyo outbreaks were in 2007 and 2012.
The most recent Ebola outbreaks in the DRC were in 2018 and 2020 and they killed more than 1,000 people each. The largest Ebola outbreak occurred in 2014 to 2016 in West Africa when more than 28,600 cases were reported.
Ebola spreads through contact with the blood or body fluids of an infected person, as well as contact with contaminated objects or infected animals such as bats or primates.
Symptoms include fever, headache, muscle pain and weakness, diarrhea, vomiting, abdominal pain and unexplained bleeding or bruising.
The mortality rate for the Bundibugyo virus ranges from 25 to 50 percent.