US imposes travel curbs, airport screening as Ebola toll nears 220

The United States imposed 30-day entry restrictions on travelers from three African nations and expanded screening at domestic airports Wednesday as Secretary of State Marco Rubio vowed no Ebola cases would be permitted on American soil.

The restrictions apply to lawful permanent residents who have visited the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda or South Sudan within the past 21 days — a measure that could affect Korean-American community members in Orange County who maintain close international ties. The outbreak has killed roughly 220 people and infected about 900, making it the third-largest Ebola event on record.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio told a Wednesday cabinet meeting that the administration would accept no exceptions on keeping Ebola from U.S. borders. "We cannot and will not allow any cases of Ebola to enter the United States," Rubio said, according to Reuters.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has imposed 30-day entry restrictions on travelers — including lawful permanent residents — who have visited the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda or South Sudan within the past 21 days. Screening has been expanded at three U.S. airports, and the CDC recruited additional staff to manage the heightened workload, according to Reuters.

A U.S. medical missionary who contracted Ebola was treated in Germany after the White House initially resisted a domestic evacuation, The Washington Post reported. Five others exposed to the virus were transferred to Germany for monitoring, while one additional exposed individual was moved to the Czech Republic.

Washington has proposed opening a quarantine facility in Kenya for U.S. citizens exposed to the virus abroad, but the Kenyan government had not yet approved the plan as of Wednesday, The Washington Post reported.

Rubio outlined a broader containment strategy during the cabinet session. "The State Department and other agencies represented here, the Centers for Disease Control, HHS, others, are working very, very hard to contain this crisis to the countries where it's currently located, particularly the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and so we surged assistance to make sure that it is being contained there," he said.

The DRC outbreak, caused by the rare Bundibugyo strain, is the third-largest Ebola event on record and has been declared a public health emergency of international concern by the World Health Organization. U.S. officials say keeping the disease contained in Central Africa remains the primary line of defense against broader international spread.