US Bars Travelers From DR Congo Over Ebola Outbreak

The restrictions, announced by the Trump administration on Monday, place US citizens currently in or recently departed from DR Congo on a federal “do-not-board” list, according to Reuters, citing a White House official.

The official said about two dozen Americans had been preparing to return to the United States on Tuesday and that the State Department would assist those affected during the mandatory waiting period.

The measure comes as the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola continues to spread across DR Congo, where health authorities have reported 1,926 confirmed cases and 702 deaths as of July 11.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced on Friday that an American humanitarian worker in DR Congo had tested positive for Ebola.

Separately, another US citizen infected while working in the country was transferred to Frankfurt University Hospital in Germany, according to the evangelical Christian organization Samaritan’s Purse.

Peter Stafford, a surgeon with the Christian missionary organization Serge who also contracted Ebola earlier in the outbreak, was likewise evacuated to Germany for treatment.

Uganda has confirmed 20 Ebola cases and two deaths linked to the outbreak, while France has reported a travel-related case involving a doctor who returned from a humanitarian mission in DR Congo late last month.

World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the outbreak in DR Congo continues to outpace response efforts but assessed the risk of wider international spread as remaining low.