Canada to temporarily bar entry for foreigners who have recently been to Congo, against UN advice

July 19 – The Canadian government said on Sunday it would deny entry to any foreigner who has been to Congo within the past 21 days as part of new, temporary border measures to combat the spread of Ebola.

The ban contravenes advice from the World Health Organization, which advises against travel or trade restrictions with Congo, where officials are currently struggling to contain a large outbreak of Ebola. The U.N. health agency says travel restrictions create stigma and can make epidemics harder to control.

“People from affected regions and African communities have faced unfair suspicion,” WHO said in a statement last month. “The spread of Ebola is not determined by nationality or ethnicity.” WHO estimates that the risk of Congo’s Ebola outbreak spreading internationally is low.

In a statement on Sunday, Canada’s Public Health Agency said “limiting entry of foreign nationals who have been in (Congo) in the previous 21 days may reduce public health risks for Canadians.”

The measures take effect on Monday, July 20, at 11:59 p.m. EDT, the Public Health Agency of Canada said in a statement.

The agency did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Ebola is mostly spread through direct contact with the bodily fluids of someone infected with the disease. As of July 15, Congo had reported more than 2,100 Ebola cases including 828 deaths.

Last week, the U.S. introduced measures preventing Americans who had been in Congo in the previous 21 days from entering the U.S. via commercial aviation. Seven American aid workers who had been working in Congo to stop the outbreak are currently quarantining in a facility in Kenya. REUTERS