U.S. bars Americans from direct flights home from DRC, requires 21-day wait

Americans will no longer be able to fly directly home from the Democratic Republic of the Congo under a new process outlined by U.S. officials amid the ongoing Ebola outbreak. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Department of Homeland Security are working together on a Do Not Board process for Americans in the DRC.

The Do Not Board list prevents a person from obtaining a boarding pass for any flight into, out of, or within the United States. Previously only non-citizens had been barred from traveling back to the U.S. from the Ebola outbreak regions.

American travelers were being screened at select airports for any signs of the virus. Under the new measure Americans departing from the DRC will only be able to return to the U.S. 21 days after leaving that country.

Earlier this week the CDC announced a second American infected with Ebola in the DRC had been transferred to Germany for care. The unnamed patient works for a humanitarian aid organization.

The first American infected with Ebola was a doctor who contracted the disease while treating patients in the DRC. Dr. Peter Stafford was evacuated to Germany at the time to receive specialty care. Stafford was discharged from the hospital in June and the family has since returned to the United States.