Global Travel Halts as Ebola Outbreak Claims More Lives
Multiple nations including the U.S., Canada, Uganda and the Bahamas have imposed travel restrictions on arrivals from central Africa amid an Ebola outbreak in Congo that has caused 220 deaths.
The measures follow an appeal from the U.N. aviation agency calling on governments and airline operators to implement strict adherence to protocols established during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The World Health Organization has documented 220 suspected fatalities and 900 suspected cases of the lethal Bundibugyo strain of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo since the Kinshasa government declared an outbreak on May 15, as reported by the BBC.
The Congolese Ministry of Transport and Communications has halted all flights to and from Bunia in eastern DRC in a bid to contain the outbreak. Bunia represents one of 11 health zones in the DRC currently affected by the disease.
Uganda has imposed its own travel restrictions affecting movement to and from the DRC. Direct air service has been suspended, while bus and boat crossings at the border have been stopped for a four-week period. Weekly markets in border districts have also been placed on hold, though freight traffic and shipments of essential goods and food are still allowed through.
Canada and the Bahamas have announced temporary entry bans affecting residents of the DRC, Uganda and South Sudan, as Breitbart News reports.
The United States imposed a ban last week preventing all non-citizens who traveled to the DRC, Uganda or South Sudan within the preceding 21 days from entering American territory.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio emphasized the administration’s position, stating: We cannot and will not allow any cases of Ebola to enter the United States.
Thailand, Kenya, the Cayman Islands and India have each launched their own screening and surveillance procedures in response to the outbreak.
The rapid spread of the virus and resulting border closures come as British scientists work to urgently develop a vaccine based on the same technology used in the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine, aiming to help contain the deadly sub-strain engulfing the DRC and neighboring countries, according to Breitbart News.
With information from Breitbart News
