- The US CDC issued a new order on October 22 requiring all US-bound air travellers to attest that they have not visited the DRC in the prior 21 days
- The new attestation rule takes effect on November 3, with airlines required to ensure passengers complete the declaration before boarding
- The announcement follows Nigeria confirming its first Ebola case in more than a decade, involving a Uganda-born woman who returned to Abuja in October
TUKO.co.ke journalist Japhet Ruto has over eight years of experience in financial, business, and technology reporting, offering insights into Kenyan and global economic trends.
The United States (US) government is tightening its Ebola screening measures by requiring all air travellers bound for the US to formally declare whether they have been in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) within the past 21 days.
Source: Facebook
The new order, issued by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday, October 22, takes effect on November 3.
Under the directive, passengers must submit either a digital or paper attestation confirming they have not travelled to the DRC in the preceding three weeks.
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According to US News, airlines will be responsible for ensuring compliance, and the CDC was set to brief major US and international carriers on Friday on how to implement the requirements.
"This requirement applies to flights departing to the United States from a foreign country at or after 11:59pm EST on November 3, 2026," the CDC stated.
When did the CDC issue the first Ebola restriction?
The CDC first moved to restrict passengers who had recently been in the DRC in May 2026, when the country was identified as the centre of the current Ebola outbreak.
Those initial rules applied to foreign nationals. The restrictions were subsequently extended to US citizens in July.
Separately, the agency has barred foreign nationals from entering the US if they have been in Uganda or South Sudan within the prior three weeks, as part of the broader response to the ongoing outbreak.
The Bundibugyo strain driving the 2026 outbreak spread undetected for months before it was formally declared in May.
The strain kills approximately half of those infected and currently has no approved treatment or vaccine. According to the Africa CDC, the outbreak has claimed roughly 4,700 lives across the continent to date.
Which African country recently confirmed an Ebola case?
The new attestation requirement comes days after Nigeria confirmed its first Ebola case in over a decade. Health authorities identified the patient as a Uganda-born woman who returned to Abuja on October 3 following travel to Uganda.
The case has heightened concerns about cross-border transmission of the virus, though US officials have not formally linked the new CDC order to developments in Nigeria.
The CDC confirmed that no Ebola cases linked to the 2026 outbreak have so far been reported in the United States.
Source: TUKO.co.ke