U.S. Travel Ban on Visitors from DRC, Uganda and South Sudan Takes Effect

U.S. passport holders who have been in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda or South Sudan in the past 21 days. The restriction was imposed after the World Health Organization declared the Ebola outbreak a public health emergency of international concern on Sunday.

The outbreak has been linked to 139 deaths and approximately 600 suspected cases in the DRC as of Wednesday, according to the World Health Organization. Two confirmed cases have also been reported in neighboring Uganda. Most cases have occurred in the DRC's Ituri and North Kivu provinces.

A new case was reported in the DRC's South Kivu province on Thursday. The area is under the control of the Alliance Fleuve Congo, which includes the Rwanda-backed M23 rebels. An Ebola case in Goma, the North Kivu capital also under M23 control, has prompted calls to reopen the city's airport for aid deliveries.

Researchers at Imperial College London have revised their estimates of the outbreak size upward based on the latest WHO figures. There is no vaccine or treatment available for the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola responsible for the current outbreak.

Centres for Disease Control and Prevention stated that generalized travel restrictions and border closures are not the solution to outbreaks. The organization said such measures can create fear, damage economies, discourage transparency, complicate humanitarian operations, and divert movement toward informal routes.

Dr Githinji Gitahi, group CEO at Amref Health Africa, said travel bans do not stop viruses but stop solidarity. Uganda's information minister, Chris Baryomunsi, told Reuters the United States was overreacting and that the country has capacity to contain epidemics.

The travel ban has disrupted the DRC men's football team's World Cup preparations and caused a flight to Detroit to be diverted to Canada on Wednesday because a traveler from the DRC was on board.