The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Friday announced new travel measures for those coming to the United States from countries hit by an Ebola outbreak.
Starting next week, passengers traveling from Guinea and the Democratic Republic of Congo will be redirected to six U.S. airports so that the CDC can track and accompany them.
“The airlines will collect and transmit passenger information to the CDC for follow-up and public health intervention for all passengers who board a flight to the US who have been in the DRC or Guinea for the previous 21 days, ”states the announcement.
Guinea and the Democratic Republic of Congo have witnessed several outbreaks of Ebola over the years, with previous outbreaks killing thousands of people.
The United States has not seen an Ebola case since 2015 and officials said they did not believe the latest outbreak was a threat to the country.
For Ebola to spread, a person must have direct contact with the blood or body fluids of a person who has the virus. As long as a person does not travel to an outbreak area, the CDC says it is low risk for an individual to contract the virus.
However, as a precaution, the CDC said that passengers from the two countries currently experiencing outbreaks will have their contact information verified and shared with state and local health officials.
The agency issued level three health warnings this week to Guinea and the Democratic Republic of Congo, which means that there should be no non-essential travel for countries.
The Ebola outbreak in Guinea began in mid-February in a rural area of the country, while the Democratic Republic of Congo saw its outbreak begin earlier in the month.
Currently, there have been nine cases reported in Guinea with five deaths. The Democratic Republic of Congo saw eight confirmed cases and four deaths in the last outbreak, according to the World Health Organization.
The latest Ebola outbreaks come at a time when the world is struggling to get the coronavirus under control, with the disease affecting millions of people around the world since the beginning of last year.