The United States has temporarily expanded an Ebola-related travel ban to include lawful permanent residents who have recently been in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda or South Sudan, as Washington moves to prevent the virus from entering the country.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday that green card holders who had been in any of the three countries during the previous 21 days would be barred from entering the United States for a limited period.
U.S. citizens and nationals remain exempt from the measure.
The move marks a significant expansion of an order first issued Monday under Title 42 of U.S. public health law, which allows federal authorities to restrict entry in order to prevent the spread of contagious diseases.
Green card holders had initially been exempt from the 30-day Ebola travel ban. But the CDC said the extension was needed because of the growing public health risk linked to the outbreak.
“Applying this authority to lawful permanent residents for a limited period of time provides a balance between protecting public health and managing emergency response resources,” the agency said in a statement.
The decision comes as the World Health Organization raised the national risk level in the Democratic Republic of Congo to “very high” over the rare Bundibugyo strain of Ebola. The WHO has also declared the outbreak in DRC and Uganda an emergency of international concern.
The measure is unusual because lawful permanent residents have historically been protected from U.S. entry restrictions. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the CDC’s Title 42 order did not apply to green card holders. They were also exempt from several travel bans imposed during Donald Trump’s presidency.
The new order reflects growing concern in Washington over the possible international spread of the outbreak, particularly as health authorities warn that the Bundibugyo strain has no approved vaccine or treatment.