US imposes 30-day Ebola entry ban: travelers from DRC, Uganda, South Sudan barred
Travelers who have been in the DRC, Uganda, or South Sudan within the past 21 days are now barred from entering the United States. The CDC's 30-day entry ban follows WHO's PHEIC declaration for the Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak. DRC reports 125 confirmed cases, 17 deaths.
Travelers who have been in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, or South Sudan within the past 21 days are now prohibited from entering the United States. The CDC's 30-day non-immigrant entry ban is part of a broader international response to the Bundibugyo Ebola virus outbreak, which the World Health Organization declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern on May 17. According to the DRC Ministry of Health's May 28 update, the outbreak has reached 125 laboratory-confirmed cases and 17 deaths, with an additional 906 suspected cases and 223 suspected deaths across Ituri, North Kivu, and South Kivu provinces. Uganda has confirmed nine cases and one death, at least three of which were linked to travel from the DRC. Uganda's National Task Force on Ebola Response closed all formal border crossings with the DRC on May 27, allowing only authorized health, security, and humanitarian personnel to cross, all subject to a mandatory 21-day self-isolation period. Canada suspended immigration documents for residents of the affected countries for 90 days starting May 27. Jordan, Bahrain, and Rwanda imposed entry restrictions earlier in May, and Kenya and Tanzania introduced health-screening requirements for arrivals from or via the affected countries. WHO raised its risk assessment to "very high" on May 22. Source: WHO Disease Outbreak News, CDC Health Alert Network, ECDC threat assessment.