Canada has joined Australia in suspending entry visas for people from Ebola-stricken countries in west Africa in an attempt to keep the deadly disease away.
Canada’s Conservative government said on Friday that it is suspending visa applications for residents and nationals of nations with “widespread and persistent-intense transmission” of Ebola virus disease.
Canada has not yet had a case of Ebola. Canadians, including healthcare workers, in west Africa will be permitted to travel back to Canada, the government said.
The countries most severely hit by the worst Ebola outbreak ever are Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea. Canada receives very few travelers from those nations, which have no direct flights to Canada.
A similar move by Australia was slammed on Wednesday last week by WHO Director-General Margaret Chan (陳馮富珍), who said closing borders would not stop the spread of the Ebola virus.
Canadian Minister of Health Rona Ambrose said in a statement: “[The] No. 1 priority is to protect Canadians.”
Canadian Citizenship and Immigration Minister Jason Alexander said the government would act in the “best interests of Canadians.”
Kevin Menard, a spokesman for Alexander, said the move is similar to — but a bit less restrictive than — the one the Australian government announced last week. He later called it “considerably different.”
“We have instituted a pause, but there is room for discretion and if we can be assured that someone is not infected with Ebola,” Menard said in an e-mail after declining to comment by telephone. He said the government was “doing anything we can to keep Ebola from coming to Canada.”
Nancy Caron, a spokesman for Citizenship and Immigration Canada, said that “a number of African countries have imposed stricter travel bans, as have several other countries around the world. Other countries such as the US have started to place restrictions on travelers from countries with Ebola outbreaks.”
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