President Donald Trump has already settled on a scapegoat if an Ebola outbreak occurs during the FIFA World Cup, according to new reporting.
The Trump administration is pressing European nations to dramatically tighten their Ebola restrictions ahead of the global event, which kicks off Thursday in the United States, warning that Europe's adherence to World Health Organization guidance is inadequate and dangerous, sources familiar with the matter told Axios.
"European countries must do their part to ensure this outbreak does not spread further," a State Department official said. "Action is required now."
The State Department last week sent an extraordinary request to European countries calling for travel restrictions from Central Africa, where a Bundibugyo-strain Ebola outbreak has infected more than 500 people and killed more than 90 in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda. WHO declared the outbreak a global health emergency on May 17. Unlike the more common Zaire strain, Bundibugyo has no licensed vaccine or approved treatment.
The tournament runs through July 19, featuring 48 teams and 104 matches across 11 American host cities, with an estimated five million to seven million international visitors expected — including players and fans from the DRC.
The administration's concerns center on three claims, according to Axios: that WHO failed to immediately report the outbreak and discouraged travel bans; that the European Union has been too slow to impose restrictions; and that Europe should follow the lead of Canada and Mexico by adopting U.S.-style travel curbs on nonessential travel from affected countries.
WHO and European officials argue that screening, testing and contact tracing are more effective than border closures, noting that no EU nation has reported a confirmed Ebola case linked to the current outbreak. They have also noted that unlike COVID-19, Ebola requires direct contact with bodily fluids from a symptomatic patient, making mass gatherings an unlikely transmission setting.
Trump withdrew the U.S. from WHO on his first day in office, but Axios reported that his administration appears positioned to blame both the organization and Europe if an outbreak occurs on American soil during the world's most-watched sporting event.
The administration says it has committed more than $160 million to the Ebola response and maintains the risk of an outbreak remains low — a result, it argues, of its own aggressive measures.
