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CDC Adds Atlanta and Houston Airports to Ebola Screening Options
Two additional U.S. airports will begin screening travelers arriving from Congo, Uganda, and South Sudan on May 26. The change expands earlier requirements that directed some passengers through Washington Dulles.
May 26, 7:45 AM·2m read1 source
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Two more airports have been added as options for people traveling from countries affected by the Ebola outbreak in Africa. People traveling from Congo, Uganda, or South Sudan can go to the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in Atlanta, Georgia, and George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, Texas, starting May 26, Customs and Border Protection said on May 22.
The CDC said in a statement that Atlanta airport has established operational procedures in place for enhanced screening, which is one layer of the country’s approach to public health on top of screening individuals overseas before they board flights, having airlines report suspected illnesses among passengers, and monitoring people after they arrive.
21, U.S. officials announced that U.S. citizens and legal residents who had been in Congo, Uganda, or South Sudan within 21 days of arrival must go through Washington Dulles International Airport in Virginia, outside the nation’s capital. CDC officials said that the travelers would be escorted to a special area of the airport to complete a questionnaire about their travel history and symptoms, and to provide their contact details.
CDC personnel would observe people for signs of illness and take their temperatures with no-contact thermometers. Travelers without symptoms would be allowed to go to their final destinations; travelers with symptoms would be evaluated by a CDC public health officer and may be sent to area hospitals.
U.S. officials have said that there are no cases of Ebola in the United States linked to the outbreak, which was confirmed in Congo earlier this year and is up to more than 1,000 suspected and confirmed cases. One case was confirmed in an American doctor who was working in Congo.
