The Centre for Disease Control in partnership with the Department of Homeland Security and other federal agencies has suspended entry to foreigners who have recently travelled to the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda and South Sudan to limit the spread of Ebola virus, a statement said Monday.
The travel restrictions, effective immediately, apply to all non-U.S. passport holders who have been to the aforementioned countries within the last 21 days.
Americans with recent travel history to the selected African countries will be screened and monitored by public health officials.
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CDC will also partner with airlines and port-of-entry officials “to identify and manage travellers who may have been exposed to Ebola virus”.
Disease control officials activated contingent measures including “contact tracing, laboratory testing capacity, and hospital readiness” to contain the virus in the event of an outbreak in the U.S.
Peter Stafford, an American doctor who is on a Christian medical mission in the DRC, tested positive for the deadly virus.
The doctor contracted the virus at Nyankunde Hospital in Bunia, Ituri Province, where he was attending to patients.
The doctor has been working in the hospital since 2023, according to Serge, a reformed international Christian missions organisation that sends hospitality supplies to ministry leaders, evangelists and missionaries across the world.
There is no known cure for the Bundebugyo variant of the Ebola virus that the missionary doctor contracted.
The World Health Organisation on Saturday declared the virus a global emergency but the death toll in Congo has exceeded 120 while registered cases are above 500.
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