SAFETY MEASURES

CDC Announces Enhanced Screenings at Busiest U.S. Airport

The WHO declared the Ebola outbreak an international public health emergency on May 17.

Some travelers passing through Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport will now be subject to enhanced Ebola screening measures. In a Saturday press release, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced that travelers arriving from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, and South Sudan will be required to undergo additional screenings for the disease. As of May 24, there have been 83 confirmed cases of Ebola and nine deaths in the DRC. An estimated 176 people are suspected to have died from the Bundibugyo strain of the disease, with 750 suspected cases in the DRC and a handful of confirmed cases in Uganda. Before the CDC’s announcement, all flights carrying passengers from the listed countries were diverted to Washington’s Dulles International Airport, the sole designated landing site for further screening. The CDC says this step is just one part of their plan to prevent the spread of the disease to the United States, which also includes overseas exit screening, airline illness reporting, and post-arrival public health monitoring. The Trump administration has already banned non-citizens who have traveled to the DRC, Uganda, or South Sudan in the past few weeks from entering the country.