Health Alert – U.S. Embassy Bangui, Central African Republic

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Location:  Country-wide

Event:  COVID-19 Health Update

The Ministry of Health of the Central African Republic (CAR) has confirmed there are cases of COVID-19 in the country.

The government of CAR closed the Bangui airport, with exceptions for humanitarian, medevac, and technical stops. The U.S. Embassy is working with the State Department on options for U.S. citizens to depart the country. There are no flights scheduled at this time. Please note that evacuation flights are not free-of-charge and are, in fact, frequently more expensive than currently available commercial travel; you will be required to sign a promissory note guaranteeing future payment to the U.S. Government. You should also note:

  • Should an opportunity to return to the U.S. present itself, it may be via commercial means or a chartered flight. This option may be more expensive than a normal airfare. At this time, we do not have an estimated cost but one will be shared with you before you depart CAR.
  • Flights will only depart from Bangui. You will need to make your own way to the airport.
  • You will be responsible for onward travel from the arrival location in the United States, which will most likely be somewhere on the east coast.
  • Please monitor our website and enroll in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) for any updates.

If you need assistance departing the country, please contact us at BanguiConsular@state.gov. Local telecommunication issues affecting the internet and cell phone service have affected our ability to respond immediately to your inquiry. Please be patient and we will respond as soon as we are able to do so.

U.S. Embassy Bangui strongly recommends that U.S. Citizens and nationals enroll in STEP, the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program, at step.state.gov. STEP enrollees receive important information from the Embassy about health conditions, safety alerts, and travel updates. Enrollment enables the Embassy to contact you in the event of an emergency. If you have previously enrolled in STEP, we recommend that you log into your STEP account to ensure your details are current, your country of travel information is correct, and that you set your departure date as ‘indefinite.’ These steps will enable you to receive all our embassy messaging. For any immediate need, U.S. citizens in an emergency can call 1-888-407-4747 from the United States and Canada or (plus) 1-202-501-4444 from overseas.

On March 14, the Department of State authorized the departure from any diplomatic or consular post in the world of US personnel and family members who have been medically determined to be at higher risk of a poor outcome if exposed to COVID-19.

The Department of State has issued a Global Level 4 Health Advisory for COVID-19.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued a Level 2 Global COVID-19 Outbreak Notice.

The U.S. government has limited ability to provide emergency services to U.S. citizens in the Central African Republic.  For emergency American Citizens Services, please visit our website for additional information.

On March 18, the Department of State ordered the departure of non-emergency U.S. personnel in Bangui.

Visit the local government COVID-19 website http://www.msp-centrafrique.net/ for updated information.

Actions to Take:

Assistance:

 

By | 2 April, 2020 | Topics: Alert

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