A top Senate Democrat said Tuesday the Centers for Disease Control is preparing to toughen screening requirements to protect the United States from the outbreak of the Ebola virus.
The plan could include recommendations made to the CDC and to U.S. Customs and Border Protection in a letter sent over the weekend by Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., which include establishing a database of passengers who travel to and from West Africa, where Ebola has been spreading.
Schumer said he talked CDC Director Tom Frieden, who told him screening requirements at U.S airports are set to increase to include steps beyond the call for screening that the Obama administration has already announced.
“While CDC is still finalizing the additional screening and security procedures they will implement, Director Frieden told Schumer that some of the procedures would likely follow recommendations the Senator outlined in a letter to the CDC and CBP this past weekend,” Schumer’s office announced.
In addition to the creation of a database, Schumer has recommended checking for fever in passengers arriving from Ebola-stricken nations. The rule should also apply to cargo ship personnel, Schumer wrote to the CDC.
Schumer is also recommending that the CDC incorporate “contact tracing,” which involves the tracking and monitoring of people who contract the disease or who have had contact with someone stricken with Ebola.
Obama so far does not back restricting flights from the West African nations where Ebola is spreading but he has announced plans to step up screening.
Currently CDC staff at airports are observing passengers but not testing for fever.
