Canada Imposes 90-Day Ebola Entry Ban on 24,000 Travelers Ahead of World Cup
Updated
Updated · The Globe and Mail · Jun 3
Canada Imposes 90-Day Ebola Entry Ban on 24,000 Travelers Ahead of World Cup
3 articles · Updated · The Globe and Mail · Jun 3
Summary
More than 24,000 people with valid Canadian travel documents from the DRC, Uganda and South Sudan could be affected as Ottawa enforces Ebola-related visa suspensions and entry bans during the World Cup period.
The measures bar entry for 90 days from May 27, require 21-day isolation for recent visitors from those countries from May 30, and are set to run until Aug. 29 after the WHO disclosed the outbreak on May 17.
Public health officials say the restrictions should not significantly disrupt matches in Toronto and Vancouver, which will host 13 games, because travel volumes from the affected countries are relatively low.
Doctors and public health experts say other imported illnesses, especially malaria, may pose a more practical challenge during the tournament because early symptoms can resemble Ebola and trigger testing and tracing responses.
The outbreak has caused 332 cases and 49 confirmed deaths in the DRC and Uganda as of June 1, while Canada says it has never recorded an imported Ebola case and that the U.S. and Mexico have adopted similar controls.