Twenty-three individuals are currently being monitored in the state of Washington for Ebola, Fox News reported Friday.
Health officials say “there is a low risk for people in Washington,” and the 23 people are being monitored because they recently traveled to either Guinea or the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), according to Fox News. Both of these countries, located in West Africa, have recently experienced outbreaks of this rare but incredibly deadly disease, Fox News reported.
Washington state health officials will monitor the individuals for 21 days after returning to the United States, according to Fox News.
Washington state officials monitoring 23 people for Ebola following travel to countries with outbreakshttps://t.co/2XUSW37H6q
— Fox News (@FoxNews) March 26, 2021
Health officials added that “There is an outbreak of EVD in N’Zérékoré Prefecture of Guinea and the North Kivu Province in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) has issued an order requiring airlines to collect and provide CDC with contact information for passengers who were in Guinea or the Democratic Republic of Congo within the 21 days before arriving in the United States,” according to Fox News. (RELATED: Ebola Epidemic Declared After Three Deaths In Guinea, West Africa)
The Ebola outbreak in the DRC was confirmed in June of 2020 after four people died from the disease.
The last #Ebola patient in #Guinea???????? was discharged on Tuesday night in N’Zérékoré 38 days after the start of the outbreak.
With no new confirmed cases, the 42-day countdown to the end of the Ebola outbreak in Guinea has officially begun!???????????????? https://t.co/l5uLsY5dPZ
— WHO African Region (@WHOAFRO) March 25, 2021
In February, Guinea declared an Ebola epidemic after three died and others were infected with the disease.
“The government reassures the population that all measures are being taken to stem this epidemic as quickly as possible. It invites the populations of the affected areas to respect hygiene and prevention measures and to report to health authorities in the presence of suggestive signs,” said Remy Lamah, the country’s Minister of Health, according to the Associated Press.