The United States has halted all flights of Afghan evacuees from two overseas air bases after detecting a limited outbreak of measles, an obstacle that according to U.S. officials will severely affect evacuation operations.
The U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agency made the decision to stop flights from U.S. bases in Germany and Qatar on the recommendation of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, according to a document of federal government seen by The Associated Press. The document indicated unspecified “health issues”.
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said the temporary suspension stemmed from the finding of four cases of measles among those arriving in the United States.
The United States has been conducting medical examinations and other procedures for evacuees at these two large bases and others where they are being taken from Afghanistan.
Flight disruption is a problem for the United States in part because many of the evacuees have been at Ramstein base for more than 10 days, the limit set by Germany to allow its territory to be used as a site. of traffic.
The document, which the PA has had access to, says the disruption will “severely impact” operations at the base and “adversely affect” the nearly 10,000 evacuees in Ramstein, many of whom have been there for more than 10 days. and show signs of fatigue.