Ebola Update: Canada Enacts Visa Ban Against Afflicted West African Nations

Canada has enacted a visa ban towards travellers of Ebola afflicted West African nations Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone. The government of the latter has called the measure an act of discrimination.

The ban, Chris Alexander, Canada's immigration minister, explained was a precautionary measure "taken to protect the health and safety of Canadians here at home." Theo Nicol, Sierra Leone's deputy information minister, however blasted the measure because it undermined whatever compassion Canada supposedly wanted to show the global community for the Ebola hardest-hit nations. He told AFP the ban was implemented without consideration to the "interests of west African states in mind," noting that as members of Commonwealth of nations, "Sierra Leone particularly feels we should share common understanding and goodwill."

Apart from withholding new visa issuances, existing Canadian visa applications of foreign nationals who planned to travel to an Ebola-affected nation have likewise been blocked. Ofwono Opondo, Ugandan government spokesman, said the measure isn't being helpful in the sense that the Western countries are the ones creating the mass panic among the global community. The Canadian visa ban "is unhelpful in containing a contagious disease like Ebola," Opondo said.

Ban Ki-moon, UN Secretary General had said the travel restrictions are worrying because it will severely impede global efforts to curb and stop Ebola. The visa ban effectively prevents foreign trained health workers to go to west Africa to become volunteers and join the frontline campaign against the disease.

David Fidler of the Indiana University, an international law expert cited by the National Post said the visa ban threatens to destroy the principle of the International Health Regulations. The treaty, drafted following the aftermath of the 2003 SARS outbreak, lists Canada as one of its signees.

Canada is one of two nations that imposed the visa ban. The other was Australia. Canada, however, does not have direct flight connections with West Africa. It also has not yet had a case of Ebola.

In the latest report issued by the World Health Organisation last Friday, there have been 13,567 reported Ebola cases in eight affected countries since the outbreak began. Of that, 4,951 have died. Australia and Canada are "allowing fear and politics drive responses to a disease threat. And we know that only ends up in a bad place," Fidler said.