WASHINGTON, October 21 (RIA Novosti) - All passengers arriving in the United States from Liberia, Sierra Leone or Guinea will be bound to fly into New York's JFK, Newark, Dulles, Atlanta or Chicago airports, US Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson announced Tuesday.
"All passengers arriving in the United States whose travel originates in Liberia, Sierra Leone or Guinea will be required to fly into one of the five airports that have the enhanced screening and additional resources in place," Johnson stated in a press-release.
Last week, the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) implemented enhanced screening measures at the five US airports. Secondary screening and added protocols, including having their temperature taken, will be applied in the case of passengers from Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea, flying into one of the five airports, before they can be admitted into the United States.
"We currently have in place measures to identify and screen anyone at all land, sea and air ports of entry into the United States who we have reason to believe has been present in Liberia, Sierra Leone or Guinea in the preceding 21 days," Johnson added.
The five airports account for about 94 percent of travelers flying to the United States from the Ebola-affected countries. At present there are no direct, non-stop commercial flights from the three Ebola-stricken countries to any of the US airports.
Johnson noted that the DHS is working closely with the airlines to implement these restrictions with minimal travel disruption.
The new measures will go into effect Wednesday.
