CDC expands Ebola screenings to New York's JFK airport

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has expanded its passenger screening for Ebola to John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York.

The federal agency said the expansion of its around-the-clock Port Health Protection system went into effect at Kennedy airport Thursday night. 

 The CDC also said Kennedy previously conducted enhanced public health entry screening and has established operational procedures in place.

The enhanced screening" is also now underway at Washington Dulles International Airport, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and the George Bush Intercontinental Airport, in Houston, for air passengers arriving from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, South Sudan and Uganda. 

“Public health entry screening serves as one component of CDC’s layered public health approach, which also includes overseas exit screening, airline illness reporting, and post-arrival public health monitoring,” the CDC said in a post on X.

The State Department issued a travel advisory recently, instructing all U.S.-bound American citizens and lawful permanent residents who have been in the DRC, Uganda or South Sudan within 21 days of arrival in the U.S. to go through the “enhanced public health screening” carried out by the CDC and U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

The screenings come ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which is scheduled to take place in the United States, Canada and Mexico next month. The first match will take place in Mexico City on June 11.

The United States has not seen an Ebola case so far, though one American tested positive for the virus while overseas and is being treated in Germany.

Misty Severi is a reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.