LOS ANGELES:- The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has announced a temporary ban on entry to the United States, including legal permanent residents (green card holders), due to the ongoing Ebola outbreak in East and Central Africa.

The expanded ban follows an interim rule issued by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that revised federal public health guidelines to prevent the spread of dangerous infectious diseases in the United States. Under the new rule, people who have been to Congo, Uganda, or South Sudan within the past 21 days will be temporarily barred from entering the United States.

The agency said the new restrictions expand the scope of entry restrictions related to the Ebola outbreak announced earlier this week. On Monday, the CDC unveiled a 30-day package of restrictions to protect public health, including strengthening traveler screening and monitoring, and barring some non-Americans from entering the United States.

The new rule completely bars even those with permanent resident cards from returning to the United States. It gives the agency the authority to temporarily restrict entry, citing the need to protect public health and manage emergency response resources. According to the CDC, there have been no reported cases of Ebola-related transmission in the United States so far, and the immediate risk to the general public is low.