The Trump administration on Monday said it is blocking US citizens in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) from travelling to the US on commercial flights, according to a White House official.
The order, which is being taken under a transportation authority known as Title 49, will place US citizens in the DRC or those who have recently left on a “do-not-board” list until they have spent at least 21 days in a third country, the person said.
The new restrictions come amid a widening Ebola outbreak which has spread to a number of provinces in the DRC. The number of confirmed Ebola cases around the country had risen to 1,926, including 702 deaths, official data showed late on Sunday.
The often fatal viral disease spreads through direct contact with bodily fluids from infected people or animals and causes symptoms that can include high fever, vomiting and internal and external bleeding.
About two dozen Americans were set to board flights to the US on Tuesday after having travelled to the DRC, according to the US official, who said the state department would support them and others affected during the waiting period.
Earlier on Monday, US secretary of health and human services Robert F Kennedy jnr signed an order citing increased Ebola risks, including the spread of the virus to just hours outside of the DRC’s capital, Kinshasa.
The US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on Friday that a US citizen working for a humanitarian organisation in the DRC had tested positive for the Bundibugyo Ebola virus. One American infected in the DRC was admitted to Frankfurt University Hospital in Germany early on Monday, officials said.
Another American, identified by the Serge Christian mission organisation as Dr Peter Stafford, contracted Ebola and had been brought to Germany for treatment, the CDC said in May.
Reuters
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.