US quarantines citizens returning from Congo over Ebola concerns

WASHINGTON — U.S. health officials quarantined 14 American citizens at a New York military base for four days after they returned from the Democratic Republic of Congo, where an Ebola outbreak is underway, according to records reviewed by Reuters and two people familiar with the matter.

The travelers, who returned through Canada, were not showing symptoms of Ebola and were considered unlikely to transmit the disease, the sources said. No U.S. order currently prevents citizens from returning by land, although a "do-not-board" order issued this month requires U.S. citizens in Congo to quarantine for at least 21 days before returning on commercial flights.

Two Defense Department notifications said the travelers could not return directly to the United States from Congo as the Trump administration increases measures aimed at preventing the entry of people considered at risk of Ebola exposure, according to a copy of one memo and a person who reviewed another.

The incident highlights the challenges surrounding the administration's efforts to prevent Ebola from reaching the United States. Public health and legal experts have raised concerns over the policies, saying U.S. citizens cannot be denied entry into the country even if they have been exposed to or infected with a disease such as Ebola.

Trump policies face possible legal challenges, experts say

Congo has reported nearly 2,500 confirmed cases of the rare Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, making it the third-largest Ebola outbreak on record, government data showed on Wednesday.

The effort to keep Ebola out of the United States has created confusion across government agencies, according to sources who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.

At the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), career officials must consult political leaders on a case-by-case basis to determine whether individuals arriving from Congo can enter the country, one source said.

The Trump administration has also established a new isolation facility in Kenya, where seven American aid workers were quarantined last week. Two other Americans were sent to Germany for Ebola treatment because officials said the facility there was closer than those available in the United States.

Experts said the administration's policies could face legal challenges because American citizens have a constitutional right to return home, although authorities may impose quarantines for those exposed to highly infectious diseases. The United States has 13 biocontainment facilities.

James Hodge, director of the Center for Public Health Law and Policy at Arizona State University, said the "do-not-board" order applied to anyone who had visited Congo, including those who had not been in areas affected by the outbreak.

"The question would be, under what standard are you measuring whether you were exposed to Ebola? Just because you were in Congo?" Hodge said. "That's not a standard that can sustain most legal inquiry."

Emily Hilliard, a spokeswoman for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), said the agency's "do-not-board" order was issued for a 30-day period and would be regularly reviewed based on the changing outbreak situation.

She directed further questions to the Department of Homeland Security, which declined to comment and referred inquiries to the CDC. HHS, which handles external communications for the CDC, did not respond to questions about the matter.

Pentagon provided temporary facility

The travelers included recently naturalized U.S. citizens who had traveled to Congo to visit family, according to sources.

While attempting to return home, two families — including two teenagers and a 70-year-old person — flew to Canada but were stopped while trying to reenter the United States by land through ports of entry in Vermont and New York, the sources said.

The families spent Thursday night at the Vermont border crossing before being transported Friday to Fort Drum, a U.S. Army base about 30 miles from the Canadian border. They were housed in apartment-style quarters and monitored by CDC officials before being released on Monday.

The group later continued to their final destinations by bus and plane, according to the sources.

A Pentagon official told Reuters that Fort Drum accepted the families to provide a temporary isolated assessment facility and support services. The travelers received medical evaluations from CDC officials and were relocated by HHS personnel on Monday.

Defense Department officials told lawmakers that Fort Drum provided housing facilities at the request of health officials.

Major General Scott M. Naumann, commander of the Fort Drum installation, informed Congress that the base provided a "temporary isolated quarantine facility" at the request of federal health officials. The notification said there was no danger to the public or military personnel at the base.

A Fort Drum spokesman said the Army facility was prepared to assist when called upon by federal authorities.

In a separate letter, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told Senator Roger Wicker, a Mississippi Republican and chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, that the quarantine at Fort Drum would not affect military training, operations, readiness, or other military requirements, including National Guard and Reserve activities.

-Reporting by Jacob Bogage and Yasmeen Abutaleb; Editing by Caroline Humer, Edwina Gibbs and Mark Porter/Reuters