Canada and the Bahamas announced on Tuesday temporary travel bans on the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Uganda, and South Sudan due to the ongoing Ebola outbreak.
On the same day, Thailand announced a mandatory 21-day quarantine period for travelers from the DRC and Uganda.
Canada banned entry by residents of all three countries for the next 90 days, while the Bahamas imposed travel restrictions for 30 days.
Canadian officials said that even travelers whose documents were previously approved will not be permitted to enter Canada until the 90-day period has elapsed, and no new immigration applications from the DRC, Uganda, or South Sudan will be considered until then.
“While the risk to people in Canada remains low, the Government of Canada is taking a precautionary approach given the severity of Ebola disease and the evolving international situation, including the FIFA World Cup 2026,” Canada’s public health agency said.
“The health and safety of people in Canada is our top priority. These temporary border measures will help reduce the risk of Ebola disease entering the country while ensuring that travellers are managed based on their level of risk,” Health Minister Marjorie Michel said.
Both Canada and the Bahamas also announced quarantine procedures for citizens and permanent residents returning from the outbreak area. Canada specified a 21-day quarantine, while the Bahamas called for 30 days.
Thailand declared the DRC and Uganda to be “dangerous communicable disease infected zones” on May 21. Travelers arriving from those countries were required to provide address and telephone information for a 21-day health monitoring period.
On Wednesday, Thailand upgraded its restrictions to a mandatory 21-day quarantine for all travelers from the DRC and Uganda.
The United States was the first country to announce travel restrictions for the DRC, Uganda, and South Sudan, beginning on May 18. On May 21, an Air France plane bound for Detroit from Paris was diverted to Canada because a passenger from the DRC was mistakenly allowed to board the aircraft, in contravention of U.S. restrictions.
The U.S. took the precaution of routing all American citizens returning from the outbreak region to three airports where enhanced screening can be performed: Dulles in Washington, DC; Hartfield-Jackson in Atlanta; and George Bush Intercontinental in Houston.
The World Health Organization (W.H.O.) on Friday upgraded the Ebola risk profile for the Congo to “very high,” while insisting that the danger of a pandemic spreading beyond the region remains low.
W.H.O. generally disapproves of blanket travel restrictions and border closings, because closures “push the movement of people and goods to informal border crossings that are not monitored, thus increasing the chances of the spread of disease.”
The International Rescue Committee (IRC) was more alarmed than W.H.O., warning that the outbreak is spreading faster than Congolese health officials and international aid workers can contain it, although only a few cases of transmission have been reported from Uganda, and none outside the region.
“The warning signs are flashing red,” said IRC vice president of emergencies Bob Kitchen. “The risks are growing and the resources are shrinking. That is the brutal arithmetic facing global aid today.”
On Wednesday, Uganda completely closed its border with the DRC. The order was implemented “with immediate effect.” Only emergency travel across the border will be permitted, and even then, anyone entering Uganda from the DRC will be ordered to conduct mandatory self-isolation for 21 days.
Uganda said it took the action because several Ugandan health workers have been exposed to Ebola while treating Congolese patients who crossed the border. The order may prove difficult to enforce, as the DRC-Uganda border is hundreds of miles long, there are many unofficial and unpoliced footpaths, and the Congo side is wracked by political instability.
W.H.O. Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Wednesday pleaded for an “immediate ceasefire” between government forces and rebel groups in the eastern Congo to “allow safe and sustained access for medical teams.”
“Stopping this Ebola transmission depends entirely on humanitarian access. Yet ongoing clashes are driving mass displacement, pushing exposed contacts into overcrowded camps and severing critical containment corridors,” he lamented.
“Frontline workers are risking everything, while attacks on health facilities make tracking cases and their contacts nearly impossible,” he warned.
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