The Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) on Friday announced new travel measures for those coming to the United States from countries affected by an Ebola outbreak.
From next week, passengers traveling from Guinea and the Democratic Republic of the Congo will be diverted to six U.S. airports so the CDC can locate and track them.
‘“Airline will collect passenger information and transmit it to CDC for the follow-up and intervention of public health for all passengers who were on a flight to the US that was in DRC or Guinea within the previous 21 days,” the announcement reads.
Guinea and the Democratic Republic of Congo have seen multiple Ebola outbreaks over the years, with thousands of people erupting earlier.
The United States has not seen an Ebola case since 2015 and officials have said they do not believe the latest outbreak is a threat to the country.
For the spread of Ebola, a person must have direct contact with blood or body fluids from someone who has the virus. As long as someone is not traveling to an outbreak area, the CDC says it is a low risk for an individual to contract the virus.
However, as a precautionary measure, the CDC said passengers from the two countries currently facing outbreaks would verify their contact information and share it with state and local health authorities.
The agency issued level three health warnings this week for Guinea and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which means that there should be no essential trips to the countries.
The outbreak of Ebola in Guinea began in mid-February in a rural area of the country, while the Democratic Republic of Congo began its outbreak earlier this month.
Currently there was nine reported cases in Guinea with five deaths. According to the World Health Organization, the Democratic Republic of Congo has seen eight confirmed cases and four deaths in the latest outbreak.
The latest Ebola outbreaks come as the world struggles to control the coronavirus, and the disease has affected millions of people worldwide since the beginning of last year.