Ebola's Second-Largest Outbreak on Record: The New U.S. Travel Order Starting on Election Night, and What Americans Need to Know
Deaths in Congo's Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak have topped 5,000, and cases linked to it have been reported in Kenya, Uganda, Nigeria and France. From 11:59 p.m. Eastern on November 3, everyone flying to the United States must sign a sworn statement about where they have been.
By Clara Hughes
While Americans focus on Tuesday's elections, federal health officials are tightening the nation's defenses against a deadly outbreak in central Africa. Starting at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on Tuesday, November 3, every passenger on an international flight to the United States, including American citizens, must sign an attestation that they have not been in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the previous 21 days, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The reason is the scale of what is happening in Congo. On Saturday, the Associated Press reported that the latest Congolese Health Ministry data show the disease has killed 5,026 people out of 10,351 infected, a fatality rate of nearly 50%. The CDC calls it the second-largest Ebola outbreak on record. There are no cases in the United States, and the CDC says the risk to the American public is low. The new order is designed to keep it that way. Keep reading with Altas Premium. Below: how fast this outbreak has spread, the countries now affected, exactly what the new travel order requires of you and the airlines, the penalties for lying, and what