Health Canada bans foreign visitors from Congo over Ebola outbreak
· Toronto Sun
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The federal government is barring foreign nationals who have travelled to the Democratic Republic of Congo from entering Canada as the Ebola outbreak in the Central African nation shows no signs of slowing down.
The Public Health Agency of Canada issued the notice on Sunday and said the measure barring any foreign national who has visited the DRC in the last 21 days from entry will take effect on Monday at 11:59 p.m. ET.
An interim Aeronautics Act order will also be in place, requiring commercial and private air carriers to bar affected individuals from boarding a plane to Canada.
They follow previous measures requiring people who had visited the DRC, South Sudan and Uganda in the last three weeks to quarantine for 21 days, while also suspending “certain immigration documents” from residents of those countries until Aug. 29.
‘Out of an abundance of caution’
“These temporary border measures are out of an abundance of caution as the health risk to Canadians from Ebola disease is considered low and no travel-related cases have been reported in Canada to date,” the PHAC notice said.
“Limiting entry of foreign nationals who have been in the DRC in the previous 21 days may reduce public health risks for Canadians and is intended to increase the effectiveness and sustainability of border measures that can safely process travellers arriving in Canada, including our returning humanitarian workers.”
The new measures were announced days after the World Health Organization warned that the Ebola outbreak in the DRC remains active “with sustained transmission driving increases in reported cases and deaths.”
An update said that as of Wednesday, there were 2,124 confirmed cases of Ebola in the DRC as well as 828 deaths. They also said that German authorities had reported on July 13 a case in an American humanitarian worker who had earlier been evacuated from the DRC.
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Situation in DRC remains complex: WHO
The WHO said the situation in the DRC remains complex due to internal violent conflicts, “characterized by highly mobile and often displaced populations, many of whom have limited access to basic services.
“These conditions underscore the need for response efforts to be led by local leaders and anchored in communities,” the UN notice issued on Friday said.
There was some good news, however, in Uganda with the WHO saying that no new cases have been reported there since June 21 and with the most recent case being discharged from a treatment facility last week after two negative tests.
“The country has therefore begun the 42-day period of enhanced surveillance required before the end of the outbreak can be declared,” the WHO said.