Proposed Data Collection Submitted for Public Comment and Recommendations
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as part of its continuing effort to reduce public burden and maximize the utility of government information, invites the ge...
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
ACTION:
Notice with comment period.
SUMMARY:
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as part of its continuing effort to reduce public burden and maximize the utility of government information, invites the general public and other federal agencies the opportunity to comment on a proposed information collection, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. This notice invites comment on a proposed information collection project titled 2026 Ebola Passenger Disclosure and Attestation. The purpose of this information collection is to ensure that, consistent with the terms of a pending Order under the Public Health Service Act, public health authorities in the United States can confirm that individuals have not been present in the Democratic Republic
( printed page 67581)
of the Congo (DRC) in the 21 days before arriving in the United States.
DATES:
CDC must receive written comments on or before December 28, 2026.
ADDRESSES:
You may submit comments, identified by Docket No. CDC-2026-1750 by either of the following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: www.regulations.gov.
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
Mail:
Jeffrey M. Zirger, Information Collection Review Office, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Road NE, MS H21-8, Atlanta, Georgia 30329.
Instructions:
All submissions received must include the agency name and Docket Number. CDC will post, without change, all relevant comments to
www.regulations.gov.
Please note: Submit all comments through the Federal eRulemaking portal (
www.regulations.gov) or by U.S. mail to the address listed above.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
To request more information on the proposed project or to obtain a copy of the information collection plan and instruments, contact Jeffrey M. Zirger, Information Collection Review Office, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Road NE, MS H21-8, Atlanta, Georgia 30329; Telephone: 404-639-7570; Email:
omb@cdc.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA) (44 U.S.C. 3501-3520), federal agencies must obtain approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for each collection of information they conduct or sponsor. In addition, the PRA also requires federal agencies to provide a 60-day notice in the
Federal Register
concerning each proposed collection of information, including each new proposed collection, each proposed extension of existing collection of information, and each reinstatement of previously approved information collection before submitting the collection to the OMB for approval. To comply with this requirement, we are publishing this notice of a proposed data collection as described below.
The OMB is particularly interested in comments that will help:
1. Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including whether the information will have practical utility;
2. Evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the proposed collection of information, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used;
3. Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected;
4. Minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who are to respond, including through the use of appropriate automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or other forms of information technology,
e.g.,
permitting electronic submissions of responses; and
5. Assess information collection costs.
Proposed Project
2026 Ebola Passenger Disclosure and Attestation—New—National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases (NCEZID), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Background and Brief Description
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases (NCEZID), Division of Global Migration Health (DGMH) requests an emergency approval for a New information collection. Section 361 of the Public Health Service (PHS) Act (42 U.S.C. 264) authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make and enforce regulations necessary to prevent the introduction, transmission or spread of communicable diseases from foreign countries into the United States. Under its delegated authority, DGMH works to fulfill this responsibility through a variety of activities, including the administration of foreign quarantine regulations; 42 Code of Federal Regulation part 71, specifically 42 CFR 71.20 Public health prevention measures to detect communicable disease.
On May 17, 2026, an outbreak of Ebola disease caused by Bundibugyo virus was detected in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Uganda. On May 20, 2026, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published
Arrival Restrictions Applicable to Flights Carrying Persons Who Have Recently Traveled From or Were Otherwise Present Within the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Uganda, or South Sudan.
Airlines are instructed to redirect flights carrying persons who have recently traveled from or were otherwise present within DRC, Uganda, and South Sudan in the previous 21 days to specific ports of entry.
CDC within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued an Order on May 18, 2026, to suspend entry into the United States of foreign nationals who were physically present in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Uganda, or South Sudan in the past 21 days. The Order was amended on May 22, 2026. An Order continuing the suspension of the right to introduce specified foreign nationals into the United States was issued on June 21, 2026, on July 13, 2026, on August 12, 2026, September 11, 2026, and most recently on October 11, 2026. Additionally, on July 14, 2026, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, in consultation with CDC, began restricting air travel for all travelers, including U.S. citizens and U.S. nationals, who had been in DRC in the past 21 days.
This information collection accompanies the Notice and Order requiring that any traveler arriving in the United States from a foreign country submit an attestation confirming they have not been present in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in the past 21 days before arrival in the United States. Passengers must complete the attestation as instructed by the airline before being allowed to board a flight to the United States as a public health prevention measure to mitigate the potential spread of a confirmed ongoing outbreak of Ebola virus disease caused by the Bundibugyo virus.
CDC requests OMB approval for an estimated 22,550,200 annual burden hours.
Estimated Annualized Burden Hours
Type of respondent
Form name
Number of
respondents
Number of
responses
per
respondent
Average
burden per
response
(in hrs.)
Total burden
(in hrs.)
Traveler
CDC Ebola Attestation
135,300,000
1
5/60
11,275,000
Airline staff
CDC Ebola Attestation
135,300,000
1
5/60
11,275,000
Traveler
Exemption Request (no form)
100
1
2
200
( printed page 67582)
Total
22,550,200
Jeffrey M. Zirger,
Lead, Information Collection Review Office, Office of Public Health Ethics and Regulations, Office of Science, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Use this for formal legal and research references to the published document.
91 FR 67580
Web Citation
Suggested Web Citation
Use this when citing the archival web version of the document.
“Proposed Data Collection Submitted for Public Comment and Recommendations,” thefederalregister.org (October 27, 2026), https://thefederalregister.org/documents/2026-21831/proposed-data-collection-submitted-for-public-comment-and-recommendations.
www.regulations.gov
44 U.S.C. 3501-3520
42 CFR 71.20