WASHINGTON, Nov. 16 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. government announced Sunday it will add Mali to the list of Ebola-affected countries for which enhanced screening and monitoring measures will be taken.
Effective Monday, Nov. 17, people arriving in the United States whose travel began in Mali will be subject to the same enhanced entry screening, health and Ebola exposure assessment, and symptoms monitoring that are already employed for travelers from Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said in a statement.
In addition, all travelers entering the United States from Mali will be subject to the 21-day monitoring and movement protocols now in effect for travelers from Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea, with twice daily temperature and symptom checks in coordination with state or local public health authorities.
The CDC recommended this measure because there have been a number of confirmed cases of Ebola in Mali in recent days, and a large number of individuals may have been exposed to those cases, the statement said.
There are no direct flights from Mali to the United States. However, each day, a small number of travelers, averaging 15 to 20, begin itineraries in Mali and transit through other countries en route to the United States, the CDC and DHS said.
The U.S. agencies said they will work with the airlines to ensure re-routing for the few travelers from Mali not already scheduled to land at one of the five U.S. airports, including New York's JFK, New Jersey's Newark, Washington Dulles, Chicago's O' Hare, and Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson, that are already performing screening on passengers from affected West African countries.