Afghanistan: Stoppage of US-bound evacuation flights extended for 7 days
The Pentagon says all Afghan evacuation flights into the United States have been halted for the next seven days. This is at the request of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, due to the number of measles cases at three different US bases. Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said Monday that three cases of measles had been diagnosed among Afghans arriving at Dulles International Airport in Virginia, one at Fort McCoy in Wisconsin and one at Fort Pickett in Virginia.
The US initially halted flights to the US on Friday when the first cases of measles were reported. Kirby said a seven-day extension of the flight halts begins Monday and that all efforts are being made to conduct contact tracing to determine who may have been exposed on any grounds. He said that patients are being kept in isolation and being treated.
Kirby said that all evacuation people are receiving any necessary vaccinations – including measles – when they arrive in the US. Clearance is done prior to their flight.
The seven-day extension further complicates an already difficult and frustrating process for people fleeing Afghanistan and trying to get to the US. Germany has more than 10,000 evacuees at a temporary processing site at Ramstein Air Base, where is 10. Day limit for their stay in the country.
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Read also: Measles cases halt Afghan evacuation flights to US
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