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The new measure was announced on Friday by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), marking a significant tightening of entry rules.<\/p>\n
\nCDC Expands Ebola Restrictions<\/strong> US citizens, nationals, and green card holders had been exempt from a broader 30-day Ebola-related entry restriction.<\/a> But the CDC said the evolving outbreak situation required additional precautions to prevent the virus from entering the country.<\/p>\n \u201cApplying this authority to lawful permanent residents for a limited period of time provides a balance between protecting public health and managing emergency response resources,\u201d the agency said in a statement.<\/p>\n Historically, holders of green cards have been exempt from limitations on entering the United States. They were exempt from both President Donald Trump’s numerous travel restrictions and the CDC’s COVID-era order.<\/p>\n WHO raises global alarm<\/strong><\/p>\n The move came shortly after the World Health Organization<\/a> (WHO) raised the risk level of the rare Bundibugyo strain of Ebola to \u2018very high\u2019 and declared the Ebola spread in the DRC and Uganda an emergency \u200bof international \u200bconcern.<\/p>\n “We are now revising our risk assessment to very high at the national level, high at the regional level, and low at global level,” WHO Chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.<\/p>\n According to Parthesarathy Rajendran, Executive Director of M\u00e9decins Sans Fronti\u00e8res (MSF) South Asia, the current outbreak is ‘deeply concerning’ because it involves the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, a rarer form of the virus for which there is currently no approved vaccine or targeted treatment.<\/p>\n Since the outbreak was officially declared on May 15, DRC have reported over 500 suspected cases and more than 130 deaths, with cases spreading across multiple provinces and crossing into Uganda.<\/p>\n MSF warns of growing crisis<\/strong><\/p>\n \nParthesarathy Rajendran warned that delayed detection and fragile healthcare systems are worsening the crisis. He added that the outbreak was detected late and is spreading in areas already struggling with conflict, displacement, and weak medical infrastructure, making this outbreak \u2018especially dangerous\u2019.<\/p>\n
Under the updated order, lawful permanent residents, commonly known as green card holders, who have been in the DRC, Uganda, or South Sudan within the past 21 days will temporarily be barred from entering the US.<\/p>\n