U.S. says DRC team must isolate for 21 days before World Cup amid Ebola outbreak: What to know

As global health officials struggle to contain the deadly Ebola outbreak, the head of a White House task force says that the Democratic Republic of Congo’s national soccer team must remain in isolation for 21 days before competing in the World Cup.

Andrew Giuliani, executive director of the White House Task Force for the FIFA World Cup and son of former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, told ESPN on Friday that the Congolese team, which is currently training in Belgium, must maintain a bubble to enter the United States.

“We’ve made it very clear to the Congo government as well that they need to maintain that bubble or they risk not being able to travel to the United States,” Andrew Giuliani said. “We cannot be any clearer.”

DRC is one of 48 teams competing in the World Cup, which begins June 11 and will be hosted by the U.S., Canada and Mexico. The team is scheduled to face Portugal in Houston in its first game on June 17, followed by Colombia in Guadalajara, Mexico, on June 23, and Uzbekistan in Atlanta on June 27.

According to ESPN, all members of DRC’s team, as well as its coach, are based outside of the country. Giuliani said that any additional staff members would need to form “a separate bubble” from the team in order to join them in the U.S.

“If they end up coming, and any of those people end up symptomatic, they are risking the entire team being able to come and compete in this World Cup,” Giuliani said.

What to know about the latest Ebola outbreak

Ebola is a rare but serious disease that can be transmitted by the blood or body fluids of an infected person. Symptoms include fever, fatigue, muscle pain, headache and a sore throat, followed by vomiting, abdominal pain and diarrhea.

Earlier this month, the World Health Organization declared the Ebola outbreak a global public health emergency after cases of the rare Bundibugyo strain of the virus were confirmed in DRC and neighboring Uganda.

According to the WHO, there have been more than 900 suspected cases and 220 suspected deaths since the outbreak began.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Monday that the epidemic is spreading faster than health workers can contain it.

“We are facing an extremely serious and difficult outbreak. It will get worse before it gets better,” he said.

Over the weekend, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned that 10 African countries in addition to DRC and Uganda were at risk of being affected by the outbreak: Angola, Burundi, Central African Republic, the Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania and Zambia. None of those other countries have teams in the World Cup.

While the overall risk of a global outbreak is considered low, U.S. health officials have expressed concern that the virus may spread as infected people who are not yet showing symptoms travel internationally.

On May 19, the U.S. announced that all foreign nationals who had been to DRC, Uganda or South Sudan in the previous 21 days would be banned from entering the country.

The Department of Homeland Security has also ordered all returning U.S. travelers who were recently in those countries to go through Washington Dulles International Airport or Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport for “enhanced public health screening.”