A Paris-to-Detroit flight was diverted to Canada overnight after a passenger from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) mistakenly boarded the aircraft despite U.S. travel restrictions linked to the ongoing Ebola outbreak, American officials said.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection said authorities took “decisive action” after discovering that the passenger had boarded Air France Flight 378 on Wednesday evening in error.
According to officials, the traveler should not have been permitted to board due to temporary U.S. entry restrictions aimed at limiting the spread of Ebola. The measures prohibit non-U.S. citizens who have recently been in the DRC, South Sudan or Uganda from entering the United States.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently confirmed that an American doctor working in the DRC, Peter Stafford, tested positive for Ebola and was transferred to Germany for treatment. Six other U.S. citizens have also been exposed to the virus.
A Christian missionary organization affiliated with Stafford said on Thursday that he remained critically ill but stable. His wife, also a doctor, and their four children are quarantining in Germany as a precaution and have not shown symptoms, the group added.
The CDC reported 575 suspected Ebola cases and 148 suspected deaths as of May 21, with nearly all fatalities recorded in the DRC.
World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus earlier this week declared the outbreak a public health emergency, warning he was “deeply concerned” by the scale and speed of the spread.
While global risk remains low, the WHO said the threat of wider transmission within the DRC and neighboring Uganda remains high.
