A person from the Ebola-affected region boarded/ The plane bound for the US diverted to Canada

2026-05-21 22:21:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

A person from the Ebola-affected region boarded/ The plane bound for the US

A plane from Paris to Detroit was forced to divert to Canada after a passenger from the Ebola-hit Democratic Republic of Congo boarded the plane "by mistake."

US entry measures aimed at limiting the spread of the deadly virus mean the passenger should not have boarded the Air France plane, the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency said.

Almost 140 people are believed to have died from Ebola in its outbreak in central Africa, with more than 600 suspected cases identified. Officials did not specify whether the passenger had shown symptoms of the virus or when he had last been to the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Cabin crew wore masks after the captain announced the flight diversion, while passengers were informed of the change four hours before boarding. The US is restricting entry to people without US passports who have been to the Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan or Uganda in the past three weeks.

U.S. passport holders and permanent residents who have been to those countries can only enter through Washington-Dulles International Airport in Virginia for enhanced screening. The current Ebola outbreak has been declared a public health emergency of international concern by the World Health Organization.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the risk to the United States was relatively low, but measures would be taken to prevent the disease from entering the country. One American has tested positive, a doctor working with a group of medical missionaries in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

He is being treated in a special isolation ward at a hospital in Germany. The Bundibugyo strain of the virus does not yet have a vaccine and it could take up to nine months before a vaccine is ready, the World Health Organization said on Wednesday. /CNA