U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Florida, will propose legislation to temporarily ban visas into America for people coming from African nations known to have Ebola.
Under the Florida senator’s plan, citizens of Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia could not obtain a visa to come to the United States until those countries get the virus under control.
Rubio pointed to recent success in Nigeria, which has been declared Ebola-free by the World Health Organization.
He hopes the other African countries have the same success in eradicating the disease. He said his bill is important to keep the disease away from Americans.
“It is prudent, given the uncertainty that surrounds this virus, that at a minimum until it’s under control, we shouldn’t be granting visas for people to be traveling to those countries here," Rubio said. "We already have one case of someone who came from that region to this country legally, with a visa, and infected two healthcare workers.”
Rubio said U.S. citizens would be exempt from the travel ban, along with aid workers or those coming from Ebola-stricken countries to train on how to treat or prevent the deadly virus.
The disease has killed more than 4,000 people in West Africa.
Also on Tuesday, the Department of Homeland Security announced that all travelers coming from the affected countries must enter the US through one of five airports where increased screening will be in place.
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