US bars some green card holders entry

The US has announced a new rule to temporarily bar green-card holders from reentering the country if they’ve recently traveled to Ebola-affected areas in central Africa.

This move is part of the administration’s efforts to rely on travel restrictions in response to the Ebola outbreak, which has been linked to hundreds of cases and 177 suspected deaths.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will block lawful permanent residents from entering the US if they’ve traveled to countries where the Ebola virus is spreading.

This new rule intensifies the restrictions announced earlier, which barred travel to the US for people who had been in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, or South Sudan in the prior 21 days.

According to the CDC, the rule won’t permanently bar affected green-card holders but provides the agency with the authority to restrict entry when necessary.

The decision stems from resource constraints and the fact that green-card holders are more likely to have ties to people living outside the US, making their inability to return to US soil less burdensome.

The Department of Human and Health Services and the CDC have determined that the best balance between ensuring the Director of CDC has the ability to properly allocate resources and taking into account the interests of persons entering the US is to draw the line at lawful permanent residents.

They have published the interim final rule, which is effective immediately and will remain in effect for six months or until it is no longer needed.

Existing measures have not completely stopped global travelers from spreading Ebola disease caused by the Bundibugyo virus across country boundaries.

The CDC says the broader authority is critical to slowing the introduction of Ebola disease into the US, and it is focusing on public health and safety.

The administration has emphasized travel restrictions and enhanced screening in its response to the Ebola outbreak, with the goal of protecting Americans.

Those measures have drawn criticism from health authorities in the region, who have urged the international community to boost efforts to contain the outbreak and provide relief to affected areas.

They have decried the travel restrictions, saying they’re often unnecessary and ineffective, and have called for alternative solutions to address the outbreak.

The US government’s efforts to combat the Ebola outbreak are ongoing, with a focus on protecting the health and safety of Americans, and the CDC is working to provide accurate and timely information to the public.