Canada has extended its travel and immigration restrictions related to the Ebola outbreak for another 60 days, and the health ministry in the Democratic Republic of Congo has released new data showing there have been more than 8,000 cases of the virus.
People from Uganda, South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo have been barred from travelling to Canada since May.
The measures were set to expire on Monday at midnight but have been extended to Nov. 27.
Immigration documents, including valid visas and travel authorizations, remain suspended for people from all three countries, leaving tens of thousands in limbo.
That includes people who have been granted residency but are not in Canada.
Foreign nationals who are not from the three affected countries but who have been in the DRC in the last 21 days cannot board a flight to Canada or transit through Canada, while those coming from South Sudan and Uganda must quarantine for 21 days.
Canadian citizens or permanent residents who have been in one of the affected countries need to quarantine for 21 days upon their return to Canada.
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More than 3,900 people have died in the Ebola outbreak in DRC since May. The country has struggled to contain the rare Bundibugyo virus, which has no known treatment or vaccine.
The outbreak in Uganda was declared over in late August after 20 people became sick, while South Sudan has not declared any cases.
The border measures were initially announced ahead of the FIFA World Cup. Canadian government officials, including Health Minister Marjorie Michel and Immigration Minister Lena Diab, said they were a precautionary safety measure aligned with the United States and Mexico, the tournament’s co-hosts.
The U.S. government still bars people who have been in the DRC in the last 21 days from flying to the U.S., and only allows foreign nationals who have been in Uganda and South Sudan to enter the U.S. if they’ve been outside those countries for 21 days.
The World Health Organization has criticized the measures, saying they are based on fear rather than science. The agency does not recommend travel restrictions and notes that the risk of transmission of the Ebola virus during air travel is low because it is not airborne.
The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control notes the risk of importing the virus “remains very low” and the European Union has not restricted travel from affected countries.
Humanitarian workers from Canada say their work is being hampered by the restrictions and may harm the international response to the outbreak.
The WHO said last week that DRC was running out of health workers to contain the disease. It has said this is the fastest-growing Ebola outbreak in history and is on track to be the deadliest, with a fatality rate of 48 per cent.
— With files from The Associated Press
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