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 The action makes measles one of the diseases for which federal
health authorities have the authority to issue quarantine orders
requiring people who have been diagnosed with measles or exposed to
it to self-isolate to protect public health, a White House official
said in a statement.
"This action was taken at the request of public health officials,
who cited the cases of measles among Afghans who recently arrived in
the U.S. as well as several previous outbreaks of measles in recent
years," the official added, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The statement did not give details on the nature or length of the
quarantine.
Measles was declared eliminated in the United States in 2000,
according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC), meaning it was no longer constantly present. Thirteen cases
of measles were confirmed in the United States in 2020.
Flights carrying Afghan refugees to the United States were
temporarily paused because of four cases of measles, the White House
said last week.
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 "All arriving Afghans are
required to get vaccinated for measles, as well
as for diseases like polio and COVID-19, as a
condition of remaining in the United States,"
the official said.
Afghans are being vaccinated at military bases
overseas before they fly to the United States.
Afghans who were diagnosed with measles after
arriving in the United States "have been housed
separately in accordance with public health
guidelines," and CDC has been conducting contact
tracing, the official said.
Measles can be dangerous, especially for babies
and young children, and pneumonia is among the
possible complications, according to the CDC.
(Reporting by Jarrett Renshaw and Eric Beech;
Editing by Mohammad Zargham, Will Dunham and
Mark Porter)
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