Congo’s World Cup squad must isolate for 21 days before they will be allowed into the United States due to the African country’s deadly Ebola outbreak, authorities said Friday.
Andrew Giuliani, the executive director of the White House Task Force for the World Cup, told ESPN that US officials had informed FIFA, the Congolese national team and the government in Kinshasa that the squad was to remain in a “bubble” in Belgium where players are currently in training.
“We’ve been very clear to Congo that they should maintain the integrity of their bubble for 21 days before they can then come to Houston on June 11th,” Giuliani told ESPN.
“We’ve made it very clear to the Congo government as well, that they need to maintain that bubble or they risk not being able to travel to the United States. We cannot be any clearer.
“We want to make sure that there is nothing that’s going to come in or near our borders here on this,” Giuliani added.
In a separate statement to AFP sent by the US Department of Homeland Security, Giuliani emphasized that the top priority was the “safety and security of the American people, participating teams, and millions of fans.”
US officials said earlier this week that the Congolese squad would be exempt from a travel ban which temporarily bars entry to the US from non-Americans who have been in the DRC, Uganda or South Sudan in the previous 21 days.
“We encourage the team to protect their players from unneeded exposure and maintain the integrity of their bubble, to ensure that they are able to participate in the tournament,” Giuliani said.
The World Health Organization on Friday listed 82 confirmed cases and seven confirmed deaths in the Democratic Republic of Congo, with almost 750 suspected cases and 177 suspected deaths.
The outbreak has been caused by the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, for which there are no approved vaccines or treatments.
DR Congo have qualified for the World Cup which will be held in the United States, Mexico and Canada for only the second time after playing in 1974, when the country was known as Zaire.
They have planned to be based in Houston during the tournament, where they will play their first Group K match on June 17 against Portugal.
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