Canada prolongs Ebola travel bans for another two months

Canada announced a further 60-day extension of its travel and immigration bans targeting the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda and South Sudan, now set to expire on Nov. 27. All immigration documents for nationals of these countries remain suspended, leaving tens of thousands of applicants, including those with pending residency, in uncertainty. Canadians who have visited the affected nations must undergo a 21-day quarantine on return, while non-Canadians who have been in the DRC within the past 21 days are barred from boarding flights to or transiting through Canada.

The decision mirrors similar measures by the United States and Mexico and was originally introduced ahead of the FIFA World Cup. New health ministry data from the DRC reports more than 8,000 Ebola cases and over 3,900 deaths, with the outbreak described as the fastest-growing in history. The World Health Organization and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control have warned that the travel bans are not based on scientific risk assessments and could hinder humanitarian aid efforts. Canadian officials, including Health Minister Marjorie Michel and Immigration Minister Lena Diab, defended the restrictions as precautionary.