As Ebola outbreak cases of the Bundibugyo strain continue to climb, so do the number of safe-travel requirements. Passengers traveling internationally to the United States are soon expected to declare no recent visit to the Democratic Republic of Congo.
New requirements
Due to steeply rising cases of Ebola, the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) plan on requiring all international travellers, regardless of nationality, entering the United States fill out an attestation confirming they had not visited the Democratic Republic of Congo within the 21 days before travelling.
Passengers are required to complete the declaration prior to boarding any flight to the US. Alongside this, airlines are expected to guarantee that all correct paperwork has been filed correctly before allowing any passengers to board- this will be implemented through an attestation process rather than a form through a government website, meaning that airlines will be able to easily to combine the declaration into any online check-in systems.
The penalty for an airline failing to confirm the validity of each passengers attestation is highly strict; in May of this year, an Air France flight to Detroit was forced to divert to Canada when it was refused permission to enter US airspace due to a passenger’s lack of declaration. This passenger was subsequently banned from entering the United States under suspicion of entering the DRC within 21 days before the flight.
In July of this year the CDC extended their law to conclude that any travellers who had been in Uganda or South Sudan within 21 days of entering the US must only fly to the designated airports of New York JFK, Washington Dulles and Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson
In a recent statement, the CDC confirmed their new law:
“After November 3, 2026, at 11:59 pm Eastern Standard Time, all passengers boarding an international flight to the United States, regardless of location of embarkation, must attest that they have not been present in the Democratic Republic of the Congo during the 21 days before their flight leaves for the United States… Wilfully providing false or misleading information may lead to criminal fines and imprisonment.”
Ebola outbreak information and control
Since Oct. 21, the recent Ebola outbreak has reached 9,735 total cases, patients found mostly in the Democratic Republic of Congo, but also confirmed in Uganda, Kenya, Nigeria with France being the only European country with reported cases. This is the 17th outbreak of Ebola in the DCR, and the second-largest Ebola outbreak on record according to the CDC website.
While the NHS ensures that no threat comes to UK citizens or travellers, they also advise that travellers research the Ebola risk for any country that they plan on visiting four to six weeks before traveling. If this kind of precaution is taken, the likelihood of Ebola spreading to the UK is considered to be very low.
Will this new CDC law effect your travel plans? Let us know in the comments!
