The New York Times reported that the Biden administration said on Thursday that travelers who had been to Uganda would be redirected to airports where they can be screened for the virus and warned physicians to be alert for potential cases in the United States.
Thus far, no cases of Ebola have yet been reported outside Uganda, but the virus — which spreads only through contact with bodily fluids and is not airborne — is highly contagious. American officials are watching the Uganda outbreak closely because there are no approved drugs or treatments for the type of Ebola virus causing the outbreak there.
The director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ordered the airport screenings, and the State Department issued an alert saying the measures would apply to all passengers, including U.S. citizens.
Screenings were expected to begin on Thursday for some passengers, but the travel restrictions will not go into effect until next week, according to an official familiar with the plan, who stressed that both the restrictions and the alert to doctors were issued as precautionary measures.
