Beginning next week, the U.S. government will begin directing travelers from Guinea and the Democratic Republic of Congo to six U.S. airports so that the CDC can track and follow-up with them, according to The Hill.
“Airlines will collect and transmit passenger information to CDC for public health follow-up and intervention for all passengers boarding a flight to the U.S. who were in DRC or Guinea within the previous 21 days,” the announcement states.
The CDC’s measures come about as the U.S. and other nations are already grappling with the coronavirus pandemic, posing increased concerns that variants could send rates spiking once again, according to CNN.
The CDC is also taking precautions with the latest outbreaks of Ebola. Two previous outbreaks of Ebola in Africa that began in 2014 and 2018, resulting in the deaths of thousands of people.
Ebola outbreak response
As of February 25, nine Ebola cases have been reported in Guinea, leading to five deaths. While there have been no confirmed cases beyond the West African nation so far, the outbreak’s epicenter, Gouecke, N’Zerekore prefecture, is close to the borders of Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Côte d’Ivoire, according to the UN health agency.
As of the same date, the UN Health Agency is reporting eight Ebola cases and four deaths reported in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
In a statement, the Red Cross said that a network of more than 700 trained volunteers has been “activated as part of a first wave of response and the government has called on people to respect hygiene and prevention measures and to report signs of the disease to health authorities.”
The World Health Organization (WHO) has helped control the recent outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo with vaccines and is helping to procure doses for Guinea.
