The Trump administration has begun using federal authority to bar U.S. citizens who have been in Congo from entering the United States until they spend at least three weeks in another country, an official said on July 14.
The administration on Monday started using authorities under a transportation statute called Title 49 to place U.S. citizens who have been in Congo on a “do-not-board” list for commercial flights heading to America, an official told The Epoch Times in an email on condition of anonymity.
Americans who are in Congo or have recently been there “will only be allowed to board a commercial flight to the United States if they have spent at least 21 days outside of the” central African country, the official said.
Around 24 Americans had been set to board flights to the United States after having been in Congo before the prohibition began.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, part of the Department of Health and Human Services, states on its website that American citizens may enter the United States even if they have recently been in Congo or nearby countries.
In a May order, the administration began requiring non-citizens who have recently been in Congo, Uganda, or South Sudan to spend 21 days outside those countries before entering the United States.
The new restrictions are based on an updated order from Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. that “highlights the new risk patterns” emerging in Congo for Ebola, the administration official said. That updated order has not been made public but will be in effect for 30 days, according to the CDC’s website.
A State Department spokesperson told The Epoch Times in an email that it is “actively exploring additional quarantine-related resources for Americans who need to isolate before returning to the U.S.” and coordinating with humanitarian partners with regards to the new order.
The spokesperson said the agency has received zero Ebola-related calls in the past week from Americans seeking assistance departing Congo.
The State Department on July 11 told Americans not to travel to Congo for any reason because of the Ebola outbreak, which as of was up to 1,926 confirmed cases, 702 deaths, and 318 recoveries.
Two Americans have tested positive after working in Congo. One, working with the nonprofit Serge, was transported to a hospital in Berlin for treatment and later discharged. Another person who recently tested positive for Ebola works for Samaritan’s Purse, an aid group, the organization’s CEO Franklin Graham told The Epoch Times. That individual was also flown to a hospital in Germany for treatment.
Many Americans in Congo are working with non-governmental organizations or are there on international business, the administration official said. A smaller subset of Americans is in Congo on their own, according to the Trump administration.
The CDC will provide medical assessments for Americans in Congo “and elsewhere,” the official said.