The New Rules, As of May 18

On May 18, 2026, CDC and DHS jointly activated a Title 42 order — the same legal authority used during COVID-19 — to restrict entry of non-U.S. passport holders who traveled through Uganda, the DRC, or South Sudan within the previous 21 days.

The order is effective for 30 days, according to CDC's official statement published the same day.

Effective Thursday, the U.S. State Department Consular Affairs added another requirement: all Americans and lawful permanent residents returning from those three countries must rebook flights to arrive at Dulles International Airport in Virginia for mandatory Ebola screening. The Daily Mail reported the directive, which explicitly states travelers should "be prepared for flight changes or cancellations."

The Diversion That Already Happened

A flight from Paris to Detroit carrying a Congolese national from the outbreak zone was diverted to Montreal on Wednesday, according to Mark Johnson, a spokesperson for the Public Health Agency of Canada. The passenger was assessed by a Canadian quarantine officer, determined to be asymptomatic, and flew back to Paris. The flight then continued to Detroit.

Dulles saw roughly 29 million passengers last year — about 79,500 per day, according to the Daily Mail. Washington, D.C. was chosen in part because the area hosts several hospitals specifically equipped and designated to handle Ebola isolation and care.

The American Patient Is in Germany — Not the U.S.

An American doctor infected with Ebola is currently hospitalized in Germany in stable condition. Six other U.S. citizens with exposure to the virus are being transported to Germany and the Czech Republic instead of being brought home.

Satish Pillai, the Ebola response lead at the CDC, told journalists Wednesday that these locations were chosen because they were the "most expeditious" options. When pressed on why the U.S. wasn't repatriating its own citizens as it has done in past outbreaks, Pillai did NOT directly answer the question, according to The Guardian.

Alexandra Phelan, an associate professor at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, called the situation deeply concerning. "It is 'unlikely' that there will not be more cases of US citizens and residents wishing to return," she told The Guardian, "and 'it would be very concerning if Americans weren't able to.'" Phelan warned the unofficial policy could gut the volunteer pipeline the world depends on to fight outbreaks.

What the Left Is Getting Wrong

The New York Times is running pieces calling the administration's quarantine orders something that has left health experts "stunned" — framing the story almost entirely around the restrictions being too aggressive.

The Title 42 restrictions the NYT is highlighting are limited and targeted: 21-day lookback, three specific countries, non-citizens only for the entry ban, with enhanced screening for Americans. The WHO itself declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern on May 17, the day BEFORE the CDC acted. Rwanda closed its border with DRC the same day.

A more pressing question — which NYT gestures at but buries — is whether gutting CDC's outbreak preparedness programs beforehand left the U.S. worse positioned to respond at all.

What the Right Is Getting Wrong

Fox News reported the treatment center fire in the DRC and the WHO emergency declaration, but has largely treated this as a foreign story with minimal U.S. stakes.

The fact that an American is hospitalized in Germany and the U.S. government appears reluctant to bring home its own infected citizens is a significant domestic story. Fox isn't asking the obvious question: if the U.S. has Ebola-equipped hospitals specifically built for this scenario, why is a sick American doctor in Berlin?

The Hantavirus Wrinkle

This story has a second layer most coverage is missing.

The same Title 42 framework is being applied to hantavirus exposure — specifically passengers from the cruise ship MV Hondius who were exposed to Andes virus, a type of hantavirus. Those passengers were placed under mandatory quarantine in Nebraska, according to The Guardian, even when some requested to quarantine at home. Canada confirmed a separate hantavirus case linked to the same cruise ship outbreak that has already killed three passengers.

Two simultaneous viral outbreak responses — Ebola and hantavirus — being run through the same emergency authority framework carries significant public health and legal implications that have received limited reporting.

What This Means for You

If you're a U.S. citizen returning from Uganda, DRC, or South Sudan right now, you don't get to fly home normally. You get rerouted to Dulles, screened, and potentially quarantined.

If you're a non-citizen who was in those countries in the last three weeks, you're not getting in at all — for 30 days.

And if you're an American doctor who went to the DRC to help fight Ebola and got infected doing it, your government has arranged a hospital bed in Germany instead of bringing you home.

The administration has not explained this decision.