14 AMERICANS QUARANTINED AT FORT DRUM OVER EBOLA CONCERNS
By Watertown Post Staff
FORT DRUM, N.Y. — Fourteen American citizens were temporarily quarantined at Fort Drum after returning from the Democratic Republic of Congo, where a major Ebola outbreak is underway, according to a report from Reuters.
Reuters reports that the travelers entered the United States through land crossings in New York and Vermont after returning through Canada. They were then taken to Fort Drum, where they were housed in a temporary isolation facility and monitored by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The quarantine lasted approximately four days.
According to people familiar with the situation, none of the travelers displayed symptoms of Ebola, and officials determined that they were not considered a transmission risk. A notification sent to lawmakers also stated that there was no danger to Fort Drum personnel or the surrounding public.
A Pentagon official told Reuters that Fort Drum provided a temporary, isolated assessment facility and logistical support at the request of federal health authorities. The travelers received medical evaluations from the CDC before being relocated by Department of Health and Human Services personnel.
Fort Drum officials said the operation did not interfere with military training, readiness or other activities at the home of the Army’s 10th Mountain Division.
The situation comes as the Trump administration tightens travel restrictions involving people returning from the Congo outbreak area. Americans who have recently been in Congo have reportedly been prevented from boarding direct commercial flights to the United States unless they first remain outside the country for 21 days.
The Fort Drum incident has raised legal and public-health questions because the travelers were American citizens, showed no symptoms and were reportedly considered noncontagious.
For Northern New York residents, the most important point is this: Reuters reported no confirmed Ebola cases at Fort Drum and no identified threat to soldiers, civilian employees or the surrounding Watertown community.
Fort Drum was used as a temporary federal quarantine and medical-assessment location—not as an Ebola treatment center.
Follow the Watertown Post for updates as additional information becomes available.
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