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The US will require air passengers to declare they have not visited the DRC in the previous 21 days. The November 3 order strengthens Ebola controls amid an outbreak that has killed about 4,700 people.
Travellers next to a banner displayed by a health screening station at Murtala Muhammed Airport following reports of an Ebola case in Nigeria, in Lagos, Nigeria, October 22, 2026. ( Photo- Reuters)
Oct 23, 2026 04:07 IST
The United States will introduce a new requirement for passengers on US-bound flights to declare that they have not visited the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in the previous 21 days, as part of measures to prevent the spread of Ebola, according to a memo seen by Reuters on Thursday.
The new order issued by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will take effect on November 3. All passengers travelling to the US by air will be required to submit digital or paper declarations confirming they have not been in the DRC during the three weeks preceding their travel.
The CDC had introduced restrictions in May barring airline passengers who had visited the DRC, the epicentre of the 2026 Ebola outbreak, within the previous 21 days. The restrictions were extended to US citizens in July.
The CDC is scheduled to hold briefing calls with major US and international airlines on Friday to explain how carriers should comply with the new requirements. Airlines for America, which represents major carriers including United Airlines, American Airlines, Southwest Airlines and Delta Air Lines, did not immediately comment on the development.
As part of its Ebola prevention measures, the CDC has also barred foreign nationals from entering the US if they have visited Uganda or South Sudan in the previous three weeks.
The outbreak involves the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, which reportedly spread undetected for months before the outbreak was declared in May. The strain kills approximately half of those infected and has no approved treatment or vaccine.
According to the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, the outbreak has killed approximately 4,700 people across Africa. However, the CDC has said that no cases associated with the outbreak have been reported in the United States so far.
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