Emergency Request Memo

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES

Public Health Service
Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention (CDC)
Atlanta, GA 30333
March 4, 2021

Dominic Mancini
Acting Administrator
Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs
Office of Management and Budget
Washington, D.C.
Subject: Request for Emergency Clearance
Pursuant to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) procedures established at 4 CFR 1320,
Controlling Paperwork Burdens on the Public, I request that the following request, Requirement For
Airlines To Collect Designated Information For Passengers Destined For The United States Who Are
Departing From, Or Were Otherwise Present In, The Democratic Republic Of The Congo Or The
Republic Of Guinea, be processed in accordance with section 1320.13 Emergency Processing.
I have determined that this information must be collected prior to the expiration of time period
established under Part 1320, and that this information is essential to the CDC’s ability to effectively
address the current EVD outbreaks in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and the Republic of
Guinea and be prepared to prevent the spread of Ebola to the United States. The scale of the outbreaks
in DRC and Guinea is currently limited, but there is potential for expansion, in part because of the lack
of public health infrastructure, logistical support and emergency response expertise to control these
outbreaks. In addition, there is political instability in DRC, and the outbreak area is experiencing a
humanitarian crisis. There are limited screening activities in these countries, which increases the risk of
disease translocation and international spread. To protect U.S. communities from an imported case of
Ebola, the United States must be prepared to respond domestically by providing state and local health
departments accurate and complete contact information necessary to locate travelers arriving from
DRC or Guinea to facilitate public health follow up as needed, including for health education, risk
assessment, and symptom monitoring. Through an Order under CDC regulations under 42 CFR part 71,
as authorized under the Public Health Service Act, CDC will require all international passengers
arriving into the United States who have been in DRC or Guinea in the previous 21 days to provide
contact information to airlines and other operators of aircraft, so this information can be provided to the
U.S. government for public health follow up and contact tracing purposes. U.S. Customs and Border
Protection will review traveler information upon entry and fill any gaps prior to the individual entering
the United States. The collection of this information will begin on March 4, 2020, with assistance from
the Department of Homeland Security.
CDC cannot reasonably comply with the normal clearance procedures due to the potential for public
harm that will result if routine processing of this request is required. CDC requests authorization to
require this information collection for 180 days to mitigate the risk of the importation and spread of
EVD in the United States. The information collection request accompanies an Order under CDC
regulations 42 C.F.R. §§ 71.4, 71.20, 71.31, and 71.32 as authorized by 42 U.S.C. §§ 264 and 268

This information collection requirement will facilitate transmission of appropriate contact information
to state, territorial, and local health departments. U.S. state, local, and territorial health departments
have the authority to implement and manage public health follow-up, including monitoring, conducted
within their jurisdictions. Health departments may elect to assume direct responsibility for monitoring
or accept monitoring by a sponsoring organization (e.g., if the individual was deployed overseas by a
private company).
Ebola virus disease is a severe illness in humans with extremely high case fatality rates. The best
strategy to control the spread of the virus to the United States is to stop it at the source with core public
health intervention, supplemented by robust state and local health department oversight of the travelers
entering their jurisdictions. If an emergency approval is not granted, then the domestic public health
response to an imported case will be hampered and spread within the United States is more likely.
Please provide an approval/disapproval determination of this request to collect information under and
emergency clearance by 11:59 PM March 4, 2021.

Respectfully,
Joel M.

Digitally signed by Joel M.
Montgomery -S11

Date: 2021.03.04 09:35:11
Montgomery -S11 -05'00'

Dr. Joel M. Montgomery, PhD
Ebola Incident Manager
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention