US to block citizens in DRC from immediate travel home, citing Ebola

The Trump administration is blocking American citizens in the Democratic Republic of Congo from travelling to the US on commercial flights, according to a White House official, who said the steps were being taken as of Monday.

The order, which is being taken under a transportation authority known as Title 49, will place US citizens in DR Congo 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 travel restrictions were not previously reported.

The new restrictions come amid a widening Ebola outbreak, which has spread to multiple provinces within DR Congo. The number of confirmed Ebola cases across 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.

Set to board US-bound flights

Some two dozen Americans were set to board flights to the US on Tuesday after having travelled to DR Congo, according to the US official, who said the State Department would support them and others affected during the waiting period. The official declined to be identified.

Dr. Daniel Jernigan, a former senior CDC official who led the agency's response during the 2014-2015 Ebola outbreak in West Africa, said using the "do-not-board" policy to prevent US citizens from returning home when they have little risk of Ebola infection is unprecedented.

On Monday, the Department of Health and Human Services stated that there were increased Ebola risks, including the spread of the virus to just hours outside DR Congo’s capital, Kinshasa.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Friday that a US citizen working for a humanitarian organisation in DR Congo had tested positive for the Bundibugyo Ebola virus; one American infected in DR Congo was admitted to Frankfurt University Hospital in Germany early on Monday, officials said.

Keeping Ebola outside US

Another American, identified by the Serge Christian mission organisation as Dr. Peter Stafford, had contracted Ebola and had been brought to Germany for treatment, the CDC said in May.

The US has pledged hundreds of millions of dollars ​to the ⁠Ebola response so far, and is building a quarantine centre in Kenya for American citizens, saying the priority is keeping Ebola from reaching the US.