Houston’s Bush Airport is now one of three airports authorized to screen passengers entering the United States from some African countries as the Ebola outbreak spreads.
Bush Airport is joining Virginia’s Dulles International Airport and Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson Airport as the sole entry points for returning passengers who have been in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda or South Sudan within the past three weeks.
“The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Customs and Border Protection (CBP) will apply enhanced public health screening at IAD in response to the Ebola outbreak,” says a notice issued Friday from the U.S. Department of State.
“This requirement applies to all passengers, including U.S. citizens, who were present in those countries.”
Bush Airport can start accepting passengers returning from Africa after 10:59 p.m. Houston time on Tuesday.
The World Health Organization has declared the Ebola outbreak a public health emergency of international concern.
Both Houston and Atlanta are host cities for FIFA World Cup 2026, and the Democratic Republic of Congo’s team is expected to have base camps in both cities, KHOU 11 reported.The DRC’s first match in Houston is set for June 17.
The Ebola virus is highly contagious and spreads in people through contact with bodily fluids such as vomit, blood, feces or semen. Symptoms include fever, vomiting, diarrhea, muscle pain and at times internal and external bleeding.
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