Rwanda to begin screening U.S. air travelers for Ebola - what do they know that the CDC doesn't?

(NaturalNews) The government of the African nation of Rwanda, in the eastern part of the continent, is now mandating that all visitors from the United States and Spain self-monitor for signs of Ebola, as well as complete an extensive questionnaire and report their medical condition to authorities for the first 21 days of their visits, because the virus has now appeared in both countries.

Whether or not it is a coincidence, the new screening mandate comes after an "embarrassing uproar in a New Jersey school over the imminent enrollment of two Rwanda children that initially prompted their parents to keep them at home for 21 days," USA Today reported.

The Rwandan government order was posted in recent days on the website of the U.S. Embassy in that country:

On October 19, the Rwandan Ministry of Health introduced new Ebola Virus Disease screening requirements. Visitors who have been in the United States or Spain during the last 22 days are now required to report their medical condition--regardless of whether they are experiencing symptoms of Ebola--by telephone by dialing 114 between 7:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. for the duration of their visit to Rwanda (if less than 21 days), or for the first 21 days of their visit to Rwanda. Rwandan authorities continue to deny entry to visitors who traveled to Guinea, Liberia, Senegal, or Sierra Leone within the past 22 days.

Rwanda now taking more action to protect its people from Ebola than the U.S.

Since the Ebola virus broke out in West Africa earlier this year, there have been deaths from the disease in both Spain and the U.S. A Liberian national, Thomas Eric Duncan, brought the disease with him to Dallas, and two nurses who treated him at the Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital there have since tested positive for the virus. In Spain, at least two missionaries have died after contracting the virus while working with Ebola patients in West Africa. In addition, a Spanish nurse has also tested positive for Ebola, USA Today reports.

Rwanda is about 2,600 miles east of Liberia, the nearest of three West African nations that are currently battling the outbreak; Sierra Leone and Guinea are the other two. So far, Rwanda has not been affected by the virus. Officials there also say there have been no cases reported in the country.

"The uproar" at the New Jersey school "started after a school nurse sent a note to staff members saying that the school intended to take the temperature of the two students three times a day for the next 3 weeks, the normal incubation period for Ebola," the paper reported.

The school's superintendent has since apologized for the incident.

Meanwhile, the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced October 22 that the United States would begin 21-day monitoring of any persons traveling to the country from Ebola-affected nations.

Dr. Thomas Frieden said the program would begin in six states immediately and gradually be expanded nationwide. The Associated Press (AP) reported that those states were New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia and Georgia. Airports in those states are major international hubs, officials have said.

"The bottom line is that we have to keep our guard against Ebola," Frieden said while discussing the program with reporters.

Those who don't comply will be 'called in'

The AP added:

Travelers from those countries will be given information cards and a thermometer and be required to make daily check-ins with state or local health officials to report their status. He said the check-ins could be in person, by telephone, Skype or Facetime or through employers - CDC was consulting with the state and local officials to help them work that out.

In addition, travelers will have to report any travel plans to authorities. And anyone who does not cooperate with the monitoring program will be called in, Frieden said.

However, the Obama Administration has still not ordered travel bans from affected nations, like many other countries have done.

NaturalNews? Good grief! About as reliable a source as Tony and DC!

Similiar article from  --  USA Today -





 http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2014/10/21/rwanda-united-statees-ebola-screening/17653947/

Rwanda to screen U.S. visitors for Ebola

Doug Stanglin, USA TODAY 10:53 a.m. EDT October 21, 2014






(Photo: U.S. Embassy/Facebook)




The East African nation of Rwanda is requiring all visitors from the United States and Spain to self-monitor, fill out an extensive questionnaire and report their medical condition for the first 21 days of their visits because of the Ebola cases that have surfaced in the two Western countries.


Coincidentally or not, the new screening follows an embarrassing uproar in a New Jersey school over the imminent enrollment of two Rwanda children that initially prompted their parents to keep them at home for 21 days.


The order by the Rwanda government to visiting Americans and Spaniards was posted Tuesday on the website of the U.S. Embassy in Rwanda:

"On October 19, the Rwandan Ministry of Health introduced new Ebola Virus Disease screening requirements. Visitors who have been in the United States or Spain during the last 22 days are now required to report their medical condition—regardless of whether they are experiencing symptoms of Ebola—by telephone by dialing 114 between 7:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. for the duration of their visit to Rwanda (if less than 21 days), or for the first 21 days of their visit to Rwanda. Rwandan authorities continue to deny entry to visitors who traveled to Guinea, Liberia, Senegal, or Sierra Leone within the past 22 days."

The U.S. and Spain have both recorded deaths from Ebola. In Dallas, a Liberian national died of the virus two weeks ago and two nurses who treated him tested positive for the virus. At least two Spanish missionaries died in Spain after contracting the disease in West Africa. One Spanish nurse also tested positive for the virus.



USA TODAY

CDC issues new rules for protecting workers from Ebola

Rwanda is located in East Africa about 2,600 miles east of Liberia, the closest of the three West African countries with the Ebola outbreak. Rwanda has been unaffected by the Ebola outbreak on the other side of the continent and has reported no cases of the virus.
The dust-up in New Jersey involving two Rwanda children took a new turn Monday with an apology by the superintendent of the Maple Shade School District in Burlington County.
The children were supposed to begin classes Monday at Howard Yocum Elementary School in Maple Shade, N.J., but ran into a backlash from other parents, WTXF-TV in Philadelphia.com reports.
The uproar started after a school nurse sent a note to staff members saying that the school intended to take the temperature of the two students three times a day for the next 3 weeks, the normal incubation period for Ebola.

Distance from Liberia to Rwanda(Photo: Julie Snider)

The letter quickly leaked to parents, stirring up fears and prompting the school district to post a note that their parents had voluntarily decided to keep them at home for 21 days.
But on Tuesday, the school district changed course again and apologized for its rash behavior, noting on its website that its schools have "become the unwitting 'face' of our nations fears with regard to pressing health concerns."

"None of the actions that have shined the regional light of media exposure on Maple Shade Schools was mean-spirited or ill intended," writes school superintendent Beth Norcia.
She says the school next week "will welcome the new students whose parents graciously offered to keep them close this week."


She adds that the schools will "consider the unintended consequences of our messages more carefully in the future. No matter how well-intentioned, a message that originated within our schools created conflict and concern within the Maple Shade community. We offer our sincere apologies."

Tit for Tat ...what they didn't report is that there have been cases much closer, a recent outbreak of the same strain in the Congo which borders on Rwanda, and outbreaks of different strains in Uganda and Rwanda recently as well.