by Jordan Higgins
The U.S. government is responding to citizen’s concerns about the spreading of Ebola. They’re trying to think of new steps and ideas that will keep this disease from spreading. On October 21st, Homeland Security announced that all flights from West Africa should arrive at 5 U.S. airports. The planes are going to Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea. West Africa has the highest cases of Ebola. The world wouldn’t have ever heard of Ebola if it wasn’t for West Africa. Since Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea are in West Africa, they have it the worst. In these 3 countries there have been 13,700 confirmed or suspected cases of Ebola. About 4,800 people have died there and it’s still growing.
Jeh Johnson, Secretary of Homeland Security said, “We are working closely with the airlines to implement these restrictions with minimal travel disruption. If not already handled by the airlines, the few impacted travelers should contact the airlines for rebooking, as needed.” An estimate of 150 people each day arrive in the U.S. from those 3 countries. Not only is the U.S. taking precaution; the U.K has also amplified its screenings at its airports to check for Ebola.
On October 22nd the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) enforced new rules on the travelers arriving into the U.S. from these 3 countries. The rule for the passengers is that they need to have their temperature checked each day for 21 days and report back to the health officials to see if they’re ok to travel. This new rule will begin on October 27th.
Sources:
http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/outbreaks/2014-west-africa/index.html
http://www.cnn.com/2014/10/29/health/us-ebola/index.html