TORONTO — An Air France plane bound for Detroit was diverted to Montreal after a Congolese passenger “accidentally” boarded a flight in Paris amid flight restrictions linked to the Ebola outbreak, U.S. Customs and Border Protection said Thursday.
An agency spokesman said the passenger “did not have to board” the plane on Wednesday due to entry restrictions imposed by the United States to limit… Ebola risk.
Officials “took decisive action and prevented the flight carrying that traveler from landing at Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport and, instead, diverted it to Montreal, Canada,” the spokesperson said in an email.
Air France said the passenger was denied entry to the United States due to new regulations stipulating that travelers from certain countries, including Congo, can only enter through Washington.
DHS also said that starting Thursday, all U.S.-bound U.S. citizens and permanent residents who have been in Congo, Uganda or South Sudan in the past 21 days must enter through Washington Dulles International Airport only for enhanced screening.
Canadian health officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
There is increasing Ebola outbreak Associated with a rare virus. There is no vaccine or medicine available for the Bundibugyo strain responsible for the outbreak, which spread undetected for weeks after the first known death while authorities were testing the more common Ebola virus.
Health care workers and aid groups are struggling to respond, with experts saying the outbreak is much larger than officially reported. So far, authorities have announced 139 suspected deaths and about 600 suspected cases.
The World Health Organization has declared an outbreak of the disease A Public health emergencies Of international concern. The organization’s director-general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said he was “deeply concerned about the scale and speed of the epidemic” and that it was likely much larger than the official number of cases. The head of the World Health Organization in Congo said the outbreak could last at least two months.