The U.S. Embassy in Uganda announced Thursday that all passengers flying to the United States will be screened for Ebola.
The embassy says the screening will apply to all passengers flying from the country, including U.S. citizens, permanent residents, and visa holders. No cases of Ebola have been suspected in the U.S. recently, per the Embassy.
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“To date in this outbreak, cases have only been confirmed in Uganda and no suspected, probable, or confirmed cases of Ebola have been reported in the United States, and the risk of Ebola domestically is currently low,” the Embassy said in its health alert.
The policy will apply to anyone who has been in Uganda within 21 days of flying to the U.S., with all eligible passengers being rerouted to one of five airports that will conduct screenings for the virus. The airports include John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, O’Hare International Airport in Illinois, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in Georgia, Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey, and Dulles International Airport in Virginia.
The screening policy will be effective Oct. 6 at 11:59 p.m. EDT, per the embassy.
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Officials in Uganda declared an outbreak of the Sudan virus strain of the Ebola disease on Sept. 20, per the World Health Organization. The 2014-2016 outbreak of Ebola in West Africa was caused by the Zaire ebolavirus, leading to 28,652 suspected, probable, or confirmed cases and 11,325 deaths worldwide, per the CDC. The U.S. had four confirmed cases, with one death.
