Trump administration tightens Ebola travel rules for US citizens

The United States has introduced new travel restrictions amid the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), barring U.S. citizens and nationals who have been in the country within the previous 21 days from boarding commercial flights to the United States, the State Department said.

The move follows an earlier report that the administration of President Donald Trump was preventing American citizens in the DRC from returning to the United States on commercial flights.

According to the U.S. Embassy in the DRC, the restrictions apply to all travelers who have recently been in the country.

"Travelers who have been in the DRC within 21 days of their flight will not be allowed to board flights with U.S. destinations," the embassy said on its website.

The notice further states:

"All U.S. citizens and U.S. nationals who have been in the DRC should plan to remain outside the DRC for 21 days before entering the United States."

The measures come as the Ebola outbreak continues to spread across multiple provinces in the DRC. Official Congolese data released late Sunday showed 1,926 confirmed cases, including 702 deaths.

The policy has drawn criticism from public health experts. Dr. Daniel Jernigan, a former senior official at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) who led the U.S. response to the 2014–2015 West Africa Ebola outbreak, said applying a "do-not-board" policy to U.S. citizens with little risk of infection is without precedent.

"This change in policy risks shifting medical and public-health responsibility to third countries, it may encourage travelers to conceal itineraries or exposures, and it will make recruitment of American outbreak responders more difficult," Jernigan said.

By Vafa Guliyeva