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Feds to end Ebola screening for air travelers from Liberia

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USA TODAY by Bart Jansen                           Sept. 19, 2015

WASHINGTON – Federal authorities will end mandatory Ebola screening Monday for travelers from Liberia to five U.S. airports, but will continue to scrutinize travelers from Sierra Leone and Guinea, federal officials announced Friday.

The Department of Homeland Security's Customs and Border Protection had provided extra screening for more than 30,000 travelers during the past year, after an outbreak of the often fatal disease in West Africa.....

Customs and Border Protection and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention agreed to remove Liberia from the list of countries subject to enhanced visa and port-of-entry screening, effective Monday....

The U.S. will maintain extra screening for travelers from Sierra Leone and Guinea, which still see a handful of new cases each week, and for people who traveled through those countries during the previous three weeks.

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http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2015/09/18/ebola-travel-airport-screening-liberia-sierra-leone-guinea-customs-border-protection/72398942/

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cdc.gov - September 18, 2015

On September 21, 2015, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will remove Liberia from the list of nations affected by Ebola that are subject to enhanced visa and port-of-entry screening.

Travelers departing Liberia will remain subject to outbound screening measures, and the United States will continue to support Liberia’s Ebola prevention and detection measures, including at its primary international airport.

On Sept. 3, 2015, the World Health Organization declared Liberia free of Ebola transmission. This date marked more than 42 days (two 21-day incubation periods) after the release of the last survivor of Ebola from a Liberian Ebola treatment unit (ETU).

Also on Sept. 3, 2015, CDC downgraded the travel notice for Ebola in Liberia to Watch Level 1, which means CDC recommends U.S. residents practice usual precautions when traveling to Liberia. Travel notices inform travelers and clinicians about current health issues related to specific destinations.

Screening and monitoring measures remain in place for travelers entering the United States from Guinea and Sierra Leone. This includes travelers from Liberia who have also traveled to either Guinea or Sierra Leone within the previous 21 days.

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