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The United States will soon be monitoring travelers entering the country from two countries affected by the Ebola virus, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Friday. The CDC confirmed those plans after CBS News first reported the details on Friday night.
Starting next week, the “very small number” of travelers arriving from Guinea and the Democratic Republic of the Congo will be routed to six US airports where their information will be collected and shared with local health officials, the CDC said.
As of February 25, new Ebola cases have been reported in Guinea, resulting in five deaths, and eight cases have been reported in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, resulting in four deaths, according to the World Health Organization. The CDC stressed in its statement that “the outbreaks are concentrated in remote areas of these countries”, and said “the risk of Ebola in the United States is extremely low”.
The CDC said the airlines “will collect and report passenger information to the CDC for public health monitoring and intervention for all passengers boarding a flight to the United States who were in the DRC or Guinea. during the previous 21 days. This information will be shared with the U.S. State and local health departments to appropriately monitor arrivals in their jurisdiction. ”
A source close to the ruling said John F. Kennedy in New York, Dulles outside Washington, DC, O’Hare in Chicago, Hartsfield-Jackson in Atlanta, Los Angeles International Airport and Newark Liberty in outside New York were all seen as watch points. . The CDC did not specify which airports it plans to use.
This funnel approach is similar to actions taken in 2014 when travelers from Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea were directed to five of these airports, where their temperatures were taken on arrival.
Between March 2014 and April 2016, there were more than 28,000 cases of Ebola in West Africa and 11,310 people died, according to the CDC.
With the COVID-19 pandemic underway, it is recognized within the CDC that resources for additional surveillance are exhausted, according to one of those familiar with the discussions. Nearly 30,000 people have been followed by CDC for Ebola as of 2014, an effort that required hundreds of CDC staff, the CDC said.
“This is a great example of how we need to be prepared for anything in the public health arena,” said another source familiar with the discussions about surveillance before the news broke.
In 2014, the Obama administration appointed Ron Klain to lead the US strategy against Ebola. Klain is now President Biden’s chief of staff.
Christina Ruffini and Max Bayer contributed to this story.
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