Rwanda has decided to screen all US passengers for Ebola. This may be irrational Ebola hysteria on the part of Rwanda, or possibly something else.
This could be run of the mill fear stoked irrationality because, unlike Rwanda, there have been cases of Ebola in the US. One person came to the US with Ebola and two people contracted Ebola in the US from that first person. The first patient died from Ebola. And although virtually all of the people who had any contact with those Ebola patients have been cleared as being Ebola free, you can never be too cautious.
But then again, it could be a reaction to a New Jersey Elementary school forcing two Rwandan children to stay home for twenty-one days due to Ebola concerns. Apparently it matters not to the school or the parents of children in that school that the two Rwandan children have no Ebola symptoms, have not been exposed to people with Ebola, come from a country that has no Ebola, and which is a country that is 3,000 miles away from the countries with Ebola. No, those little facts are not enough to quell the fears in New Jersey.
Regardless of the true motivation this notice was posted by the US Embassy in Rwanda,
On October 19, the Rwandan Ministry of Health introduced new Ebola Virus Disease screening requirements. Visitors who have been in the United States or Spain during the last 22 days are now required to report their medical condition—regardless of whether they are experiencing symptoms of Ebola—by telephone by dialing 114 between 7:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. for the duration of their visit to Rwanda (if less than 21 days), or for the first 21 days of their visit to Rwanda. Rwandan authorities continue to deny entry to visitors who traveled to Guinea, Liberia, Senegal, or Sierra Leone within the past 22 days.
Now maybe the Rwandans are as irrational as some of their counterparts in New Jersey and elsewhere in the US. Or maybe their healthcare system is so fragile they cannot take even an infinitesimal risk that Ebola will come to their country. Or maybe, just maybe, it's something else.