Houston officials say Bush Airport has started Ebola screenings for travelers arriving from affected African regions as precautions ramp up.
HOUSTON — A “zombie apocalypse” is what Dr. Theresa Tran, director of the Houston Health Department, says she prepares for every single day. An Ebola outbreak in parts of Africa is getting her attention, but she is easing concerns that the virus is a threat to Houston.
On Wednesday morning, Dr. Tran briefed Houston City Council on its response to the outbreak. She was on site Tuesday at Bush Airport, where passengers returning from the affected areas of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sudan and Uganda will be screened for Ebola.
“We’re ready, we’re not at a place where we need to cause panic or alarm,” Dr. Tran told the Houston City Council on Wednesday.
She also eased concerns about the Democratic Republic of the Congo using Houston as its base for the FIFA World Cup this summer, saying the FIFA World Cup and CDC response to the outbreak are running “parallel” to each other. Currently, members of the team are based in Europe, and there are no exceptions to the travel restrictions placed on anyone who revisits the DRC prior to the World Cup starting in Houston.
“Those who are coming to watch the games from other countries are not going to be allowed in if they’ve been in the areas of concern within the past 21 days,” Dr. Tran said, referring to the recent travel restrictions put in place by the CDC.
She said Houston’s Bush Airport began screening passengers at 11:59 p.m. Tuesday and anticipates that could last up to 28 days. The screening period could be extended if the outbreak in Africa isn’t contained.
She said U.S. Customs and Border Protection and CDC staff will meet passengers as they come off the plane and escort them to a special screening area.
Tran told reporters that IAH could average 30 to 50 people per day being screened at the airport.
This is a developing story.