By David Shepardson
WASHINGTON, May 21 (Reuters) – As Ebola cases rise in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Americans who have been in that country, Uganda, or South Sudan within the last three weeks must only return to the United States through Washington Dulles for enhanced screening, the State Department said Thursday.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Customs and Border Protection are applying enhanced public health screening at Dulles in response to the Ebola outbreak. An Air France flight from Paris to Detroit on Wednesday was ordered diverted to Montreal after a passenger from the DRC boarded “in error,” CBP said.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Thursday the diversion was to ensure Ebola does not reach the United States.
“We had a flight last night headed to Detroit that was diverted because we have to protect the American people. So, objective number one is to make sure that Ebola never reaches the United States. Objective number two is do what we can to help the people of DRC and neighboring countries so it doesn’t spread.”
The CDC on Monday said it was suspending entry of travelers who have been in the DRC and South Sudan within the prior weeks of arrival in the United States to reduce the risk of Ebola spread. The ban does not apply to Americans or lawful permanent residents.
In 2014, the United States required travelers returning from three African countries over Ebola concerns to arrive at one of five U.S. airports with enhanced screening, including Dulles, New York JFK, Chicago O’Hare and Atlanta.
A case of Ebola has been confirmed in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s South Kivu province – hundreds of kilometres from the outbreak’s epicentre – the rebel alliance that controls the area said on Thursday.
The outbreak has been linked to 139 deaths, with 600 suspected cases reported in Ituri and North Kivu provinces as of Wednesday, according to the World Health Organization. Two cases have also been confirmed in neighbouring Uganda.
The WHO declared the outbreak of the virus’s Bundibugyo strain, for which there is no vaccine, a public health emergency of international concern over the weekend.
Ugandan Information Minister Chris Baryomunsi told Reuters the U.S. was “overreacting” by banning most travellers from Uganda, along with DRC and South Sudan, earlier this week.
(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Aurora Ellis)
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