LOS ANGELES, May 23 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said Friday that lawful permanent residents, commonly known as green card holders, will now be subject to temporary entry restrictions related to the ongoing Ebola outbreak in East and Central Africa.
The expanded restrictions follow an interim final rule issued by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that revises federal public health guidelines to prevent the introduction of dangerous communicable diseases into the United States.
Under the new rule, green card holders who have been in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, or South Sudan within the past 21 days will be temporarily barred from entering the United States, according to the CDC.
The agency said the measure expands the scope of Ebola-related entry restrictions announced earlier this week. On Monday, the CDC unveiled a 30-day package of enhanced public health measures, including strengthened traveler screening and monitoring, as well as entry restrictions on certain non-U.S. passport holders who had recently traveled to Ebola-affected areas.
The CDC stressed that the new rule does not permanently prohibit green card holders from returning to the United States. Rather, it grants the agency discretionary authority to temporarily restrict entry when necessary to protect public health and manage emergency response resources.
The CDC said no Ebola cases linked to the current outbreak have been reported in the United States, and the immediate risk to the general public remains low. ■
