TRUMP ADMINISTRATION BANS TRAVEL TO CONGO OVER EBOLA OUTBREAK

Written by Michael Thervil

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION BANS TRAVEL TO CONGO OVER EBOLA OUTBREAK | PHOTO BY NEW YORK TIMES

[TRUMP CONGO EBOLA OUTBREAK] With cases and death ravaging the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the African country has now reported over 2,000 and cases surpassing 4,300 since the start of the outbreak on May 17^th. It has now been discovered that the actual start of the Ebola outbreak more than likely started months before it was declared an outbreak by the Congolese government. It was discovered that the genesis of the outbreak began back in February and according to Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus who is the Director -General of the World Health Organization (WHO) this variant of Ebola, which has no known cure “had a big head start”. Also, according to the WHO, if this variant of the Ebola virus isn’t contained and eradicated, it could surpass the previous deadliest Ebola outbreak that was noted back between the years of 2014-2016 which infected 28,616 people and led to the deaths of over 11,310.

The combination of poor health care facilities in conjunction with a trilateral war between neighboring countries South Sudan, Uganda and Rwanda due to political power struggles have played a massive role in the shift of migration patterns and social dynamics in the region. It should be noted that misinformation about the Ebola outbreak and health care workers going on strike also play a pivotal role in helping the virus spread even faster, thus increasing the rate of person-to-person transmission. WHO’s Dr. Abdirahman Mahamud went on record to state that the “peak” of the Ebola outbreak could be “reached in six months”. Despite that he also went on record and said that “that’s the moderate scenario. There is a one-case scenario where this outbreak may last nine months to 12 months.”

The reason why this is significant is because according to Dr. Mahamud, the 2014-2016 Ebola outbreak took an estimated eight months to yield 1,000 deaths. This current Ebola outbreak only took six months to kill 2,000. Although rare but highly contagious, there are at least two Ebola vaccines being tested for the current Bundibugyo strain right now and will be administered to people soon. While the WHO has issued a severe warning for people not to travel to countries where Ebola is present, the Trump Administration has also issued a travel ban for the DRC. According to the U.S. Department of State:

“Due to the Ebola outbreak in the DRC, the Department of Homeland Security has implemented new restrictions under Title 49 of the U.S. Code which prevent U.S. citizens and nationals who have been in the DRC within a 21-day period from boarding commercial flights into the United States. Travelers who have been in the DRC within 21 days of their flight will not be allowed to board flights with U.S. destinations. All U.S. citizens and U.S. nationals who have been in the DRC must remain outside the DRC for 21 days before boarding flights to the United States.”