Ottawa, May 27: The Canadian government has announced a series of temporary border measures to mitigate the risk of Ebola virus entry and spread within the country.
According to a press release from the Public Health Agency of Canada, in light of the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the increasing threat in Uganda and South Sudan, Canada will suspend immigration documents for residents of these countries for 90 days. This decision will take effect at 11:59 PM Eastern Time on Wednesday.
The release stated that citizens from these three countries who already possess approved temporary resident visas, electronic travel authorizations, or permanent resident visas will not be allowed to travel to Canada. Additionally, the processing of new applications from residents of these countries will also be temporarily halted.
As an additional measure, starting from 11:59 PM Eastern Time on May 30 until August 29, Canada will enforce a mandatory 21-day quarantine for Canadian citizens, permanent residents, registered individuals under the Indian Act, and foreign nationals who have traveled to affected areas in the past 21 days and do not exhibit symptoms of the disease. According to Xinhua News Agency, travelers showing symptoms will be isolated for further examination under the Quarantine Act.
The Canadian government emphasized that the risk to the population remains low, with no reported cases of Ebola in North America at this time. However, precautionary steps are being taken due to the severity of the disease and changing international circumstances, including the upcoming FIFA World Cup.
According to the World Health Organization, Ebola is a severe and often fatal disease that affects humans and other primates. The virus spreads from wild animals, such as fruit bats, porcupines, and non-human primates, to humans. It then spreads among humans through direct contact with the blood, bodily fluids, organs, or other fluids of infected individuals, as well as through contaminated objects like bedding and clothing.
The average mortality rate for Ebola is around 50%, although it has ranged from 25% to 90% during previous outbreaks. The initial outbreaks of Ebola occurred in remote villages in Central Africa, near tropical rainforests. The outbreak that spread across West Africa from 2014 to 2016 is considered the largest and most complex since the virus was discovered in 1976, recording more cases and deaths than all previous outbreaks combined. The infection began in Guinea and spread through land borders to Sierra Leone and Liberia.
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