US Blocks Citizens in Congo from Commercial Flights Over Ebola

The Trump administration blocked American citizens in the Democratic Republic of the Congo from boarding commercial flights to the United States starting July 13, 2026. Using transportation authority under Title 49, officials placed affected individuals on a do-not-board list until they spend at least 21 days in a third country to ensure the Ebola virus incubation period has passed.

Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. signed the order following an Ebola outbreak that has spread to the western region near Kinshasa. The World Health Organization reported the toll at 1,963 confirmed cases and 719 deaths, an increase from earlier reports of 1,926 cases and 702 deaths. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed a US humanitarian worker tested positive for the Bundibugyo Ebola virus, while another infected American was admitted to Frankfurt University Hospital in Germany.

The US is constructing a quarantine center in Kenya to support the approximately two dozen Americans affected by the restrictions. While the State Department is coordinating support for these citizens, critics including former CDC official Daniel Jernigan described the policy as unprecedented and warned it could discourage travel transparency.