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🇫🇷 France /Health & Science

Ebola: Canada bars foreign nationals recently in DRC from entry

From Le Figaro · () French

Translated from French, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News From a news agency New plan
  • Canada has banned foreign nationals who recently visited the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) from entering the country.
  • The measure aims to prevent the spread of the Ebola epidemic, which the WHO says is spreading rapidly.
  • Canadian citizens and permanent residents are exempt but must quarantine for 21 days if they have traveled from the DRC, Uganda, or South Sudan.

Canada is barring foreign nationals who have recently been in the Democratic Republic of Congo from entering the country, citing the ongoing Ebola epidemic. The ban, effective Monday, applies to any foreign national who has spent time in the DRC within the past 21 days.

any foreign national who has stayed in the Democratic Republic of Congo in the last 21 days will be banned from entering Canada

— Public Health Agency of CanadaThe Public Health Agency of Canada announced the new entry ban for foreign nationals who have recently visited the DRC.

Canadian citizens and permanent residents are not subject to this entry restriction. However, they are required to undergo a 21-day quarantine upon arrival in Canada if they have traveled from the DRC, Uganda, or South Sudan in the preceding three weeks. These measures are scheduled to remain in place until August 29.

are being put in place as a precautionary measure

— Public Health Agency of CanadaThe Public Health Agency of Canada explained the rationale behind the new travel restrictions.

The Public Health Agency of Canada stated that these precautions are being taken as a preventative measure, emphasizing that the risk is considered low and no travel-related cases have been reported in Canada to date. The World Health Organization (WHO) has expressed concern over the rapid spread of the Ebola outbreak, which was declared two months ago in the DRC. The WHO reported 2,124 cases and 828 deaths in the DRC as of July 15. An official from the WHO warned that the actual scale of the epidemic could be two to four times higher than current estimates.

is spreading faster than all previous epidemics

— Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Head of the World Health OrganizationThe WHO chief described the rapid spread of the Ebola epidemic in the DRC.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Le Figaro in French. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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