The United States is tightening its borders against Ebola in one of the strongest public health travel crackdowns seen since the Covid-19 era, forcing travellers from parts of Africa to enter through a single airport as fears grow over a deadly outbreak spreading across Central and East Africa.
Under emergency measures announced by Washington, all U.S.-bound American citizens and lawful permanent residents who recently travelled through the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Uganda or South Sudan must now arrive only through Washington Dulles International Airport for enhanced Ebola screening.
The restrictions come as a rapidly expanding Ebola outbreak has killed more than 160 people and infected over 600 suspected cases, according to Congolese health authorities and international health agencies.
The World Health Organization has already declared the outbreak a public health emergency of international concern, a rare designation reserved for the world’s most serious disease threats.
For global markets, airlines and governments, the outbreak is reviving memories of the devastating 2014–2016 West African Ebola crisis that disrupted travel, trade and investor confidence across Africa.
