All of the flights to the United States carrying Afghan evacuees have been put on pause amid a measles outbreak.
The U.S. has implemented “at least” an additional seven-day holding period starting on Monday “at the request of the [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention],” Pentagon spokesman John Kirby announced during the briefing that day. The announcement came days after the U.S. initially halted inbound flights last Friday, after the first case.
STORIES FROM INSIDE THE PENTAGON ON 9/11: ‘SAW THE FIREBALL PASS OVER THE TOP OF OUR HEAD’
These people have been “housed separately and are receiving medical care, and the CDC is doing control tracing and will ask people to self-isolate as needed,” Kirby added.
There have been five cases confirmed, including three at Dulles International Airport in Virginia, one at Fort McCoy in Wisconsin, and one at Fort Pickett in Virginia.
All Afghan evacuees are required to get the measles vaccine “as a condition of their humanitarian parole,” Kirby said, explaining that the Pentagon plans to get those vaccines administered at overseas safe havens.
Approximately 60,000 Afghan evacuees have reached the U.S. since Aug. 17.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
The U.S. military, and its coalition allies, evacuated more than 120,000 people in August, with an overwhelming majority coming in the final two weeks after the Taliban overthrew the Afghan government. There were only roughly 6,000 Americans among them, with hundreds remaining behind.
Principal deputy press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre also confirmed the halt on evacuee arrivals during a gaggle with reporters on Monday.
