DHS to tighten Ebola-related flight restrictions for some foreign travelers

The Department of Homeland Security is acceptable to instrumentality caller introduction restrictions opening Thursday for overseas travelers coming to the United States from countries at the center of the latest Ebola outbreak.

According to a draft of a caller DHS regularisation scheduled to beryllium published Thursday, each U.S.-bound flights carrying overseas travelers who person been successful Congo, Uganda oregon South Sudan astatine immoderate constituent successful the erstwhile 21 days volition beryllium required to alert into Washington-Dulles International Airport successful Virginia.

The accomplishment restrictions, issued astatine the absorption of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, are designed to funnel those travelers to an airdrome "where the U.S. authorities is focusing nationalist wellness resources to instrumentality enhanced nationalist wellness measures," the regularisation states.

The regularisation applies lone to rider flights, DHS said, with cargo flights excluded from the restrictions.

In a connection provided to CBS News, a DHS spokesperson confirmed the caller question requirements, saying that "to trim the hazard of the Ebola microorganism spreading," Customs and Border Protection is "enhancing nationalist wellness screening, question monitoring, and wellness extortion effect activities."

The DHS spokesperson added that CBP was coordinating with "airlines, planetary partners and port-of-entry officials to place and negociate travelers who whitethorn person been exposed to the Ebola virus."

In its rule, DHS did not disclose what benignant of circumstantial protocols overseas travelers volition person to acquisition upon accomplishment astatine Dulles.

The determination comes 2 days aft the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention besides issued question restrictions linked to the Ebola outbreak. The CDC announced Monday that radical without U.S. passports who had traveled to Congo, Uganda oregon South Sudan successful the past 3 weeks would beryllium restricted from entering the country.

It's unclear however the caller DHS regularisation impacts the CDC's order.

On May 15, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed an Ebola outbreak successful eastbound Congo. World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Ghebreyesus said Wednesday determination are astatine slightest 600 suspected Ebola cases truthful far, included 139 suspected deaths from the virus. Ghebreyesus said the microorganism is believed to person been circulating for immoderate clip earlier it was detected.

A U.S. doc moving with a missionary enactment successful Congo contracted Ebola and was transported to Germany for aesculapian treatment, the U.S. CDC and his missionary radical said Tuesday. At least six Americans were exposed to the virus, sources told CBS News Monday.

Health officials accidental the caller outbreak is linked to the Bundibugyo strain, for which determination are nary approved vaccines oregon treatments, according to CBS News aesculapian analogous Dr. Céline Gounder. 

WHO has declared the outbreak a nationalist wellness exigency of planetary concern, but says arsenic of present it falls abbreviated of the criteria for a pandemic emergency. 

In:

• Ebola