world
U.S. and Congo Require 21-Day Waits for Travelers from Ebola Areas
New restrictions require U.S. citizens who visited Congo to wait 21 days outside the country before commercial return flights. Congo requires three weeks inside the country for those leaving Ebola zones. Aid groups say the rules risk slowing specialist rotations.
Jul 19, 11:40 PM·1m read1 source
Japan TimesAudio version
Tap play to generate a narrated version.
Developing·Limited corroboration so far. This page will refresh as more sources emerge.
The United States and Congo introduced new travel rules this month that require extended waits for anyone who has been in Ebola-affected parts of the Democratic Republic of Congo. U.S. citizens and nationals must spend 21 days outside Congo before boarding commercial flights home.
Congo requires people leaving affected areas to stay elsewhere inside the country for three weeks before any international departure. The measures took effect after a physician working for the humanitarian group Alima flew from eastern Congo to France with Ebola in June. Japan Times reported that both governments designed the rules to block cross-border spread of the virus.
The Democratic Republic of Congo is currently experiencing the world’s fastest-growing Ebola outbreak. Aid organizations and medical responders warned that the overlapping waits will slow the arrival and rotation of doctors, nurses, and other specialists required to contain the epidemic. Deployment schedules that once allowed rapid staff changes now face mandatory three-week delays on each side.
Responders noted that the rules apply even to trained personnel who follow strict protocols. A training exercise by Doctors Without Borders in Kenya on July 10 illustrated the continued preparation of health workers for the outbreak. The restrictions remain in place as case numbers rise in eastern Congo.
