US to require Ebola attestation from all air travellers from November 3

All passengers boarding an international flight to the United States must attest they have not been in the Democratic Republic of Congo in the prior 21 days, under a new order from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention taking effect at 11:59 pm Eastern Time on November 3.

Reported by Reuters on Thursday from a CDC memo, the rule means travellers — including US citizens — who have been in the DRC within 21 days of departure cannot board US-bound flights and must stay outside the US for at least 21 days after leaving. The attestation is a signed statement, digital or paper.

The CDC also widened restrictions for Uganda and South Sudan. Non-US citizens and non-nationals, including green-card holders, present in either within 21 days are barred from entering. US citizens arriving from either will be routed through Washington-Dulles, Atlanta or New York JFK for screening, per the CDC’s guidance.

The order builds on May 2026 rules barring passengers who had been in the DRC in the prior three weeks, extended to US citizens in July. The CDC briefs airlines on Friday; Airlines for America, representing United, American, Southwest and Delta, did not comment.

The outbreak is the Bundibugyo strain, declared in May after spreading undetected for months. It kills roughly half of those infected, with no approved treatment or vaccine. The Africa CDC puts the death toll at about 4,700; no cases linked to this outbreak have been reported in the US, the CDC says.