The United States has banned non-citizens travelling from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), South Sudan, or Uganda to contain the spread of a deadly Ebola outbreak from the countries.
In a statement on Monday, the US Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention (CDC) said the entry restrictions apply to non-US passport
holders if they have been in Uganda, the DRC, or South Sudan in the previous 21
days.
“This order will be in effect for 30 days, effective
immediately,” the CDC said.
The agency also said it would enhance port health protection
response activities, contact tracing, laboratory testing capacity, and hospital
readiness nationwide as part of public health measures to curb the spread of
the disease.
In a separate statement, the CDC said it is also supporting
interagency partners who are actively coordinating the safe withdrawal of a
small number of Americans who are directly affected by the outbreak.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) declared the Ebola
outbreak in the DRC and Uganda a public health emergency of international
concern on Saturday.
The public health emergency of international concern
designation is the highest alert level under WHO regulations and is used for
extraordinary events that pose public health risks across borders and require
coordinated international action.
So far 65 people have died, and at least 246 suspected cases
have been recorded following an outbreak of the virus in the Ituri province of
the DRC.
The WHO said the outbreak does not yet meet the threshold
for a pandemic emergency under the international health regulations but noted
that, unlike the Ebola Zaire strain, there are currently no approved vaccines
or therapeutics specifically targeting the Bundibugyo virus, which is
spreading.
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC)
has said it is closely monitoring the Ebola outbreak.
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