After U.S. travel restrictions stemming from the Ebola outbreak forced a commercial flight to divert to Montreal while carrying a passenger from one of the countries facing those new rules, Canadians may be wondering whether Canada should impose its own travel restrictions.
The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the Ebola disease outbreak caused by a rare virus in Congo and Uganda a public health emergency of international concern on Sunday, with at least 139 suspected deaths and more than 600 suspected cases.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the World Health Organization, said on Wednesday that “we expect those numbers to keep increasing.”
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Prevention and the Department of Homeland Security imposed a U.S. entry ban on foreign travelers who have been in Congo, Uganda, or South Sudan in the past 21 days “effective immediately.”
“At this time, CDC assesses the immediate risk to the general U.S. public as low, but we will continue to evaluate the evolving situation and may adjust public health measures as additional information becomes available,” a statement from the CDC reads.
Currently, the Canadian government advises Canadians to avoid all travel to Ituri and North Kivu provinces, citing safety and security concerns.
However, the government has issued a level two travel notice for Congo, which is set to indicate “an increased risk to travellers or certain groups of travellers (for example, pregnant women, campers, people visiting friends and relatives) and reminds them to practice enhanced health precautions.”
There is currently no travel notices surrounding South Sudan and Uganda in relation to Ebola outbreaks.
The notice advises Canadians to “practice enhanced health precautions” such as:
- The use of personal protective equipment
- Delaying travel until risk is lower
- Additional recommended vaccinations for some groups
- Avoiding higher-risk activities
Global News reached out to infectious disease experts to ask whether travel bans can be effective and whether Canada should follow suit.
Dr. Gerald Evans, a professor of medicine and infectious diseases at Queen’s University, believes that Canadian travel restrictions are not necessary.
“We know that travel restrictions don’t work when it comes to controlling the spread of something like a viral hemorrhagic fever virus like Ebola is,” he said.
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This is a sentiment that Dr. Isaac Bogoch, infectious disease specialist at the Toronto General Hospital also agrees with.
“Those aren’t very effective measures in keeping infectious diseases out,” he said.
In comparison to the travel restrictions that came from the COVID-19 pandemic, Bogoch said that the spread of the two illnesses is vastly different.
“With COVID, it has got a short incubation period and there’s transmission of the virus before people have overt symptoms, so it’s very transmissible, it’s hard to control,” he said.
Evans also stated that the recent hantavirus exposures have left people cautious that another potential pandemic could occur.
“The hantavirus issue that we’ve been facing recently with the cruise ship and now this Ebola outbreak in East Africa, with almost certainty, I can see these are not going to become a pandemic. They’re spread in a very different way,” he said.
In comparison to Ebola and hantavirus, Evans stated that the spread of the two illnesses stems “only when you get and the sicker you get that you actually get lots of transmission.”
“By that time, you’ve already identified somebody who’s unwell and maybe tested them and figured out what they had. COVID was trickier,” he said.
Bogoch also said that with people travelling at rates “never seen before,” it makes the containment of these illnesses much more difficult.
“The sad reality is that we’re in an era of unprecedented human mobility at a global level,” he said. “You can start in one corner of the world and be in just about any other part of the world in 24 hours through commercial means.“
How severe is the Ebola outbreak?
There’s no approved treatment for Ebola disease in Canada. Patients can receive oxygen, intravenous fluids and other drugs in designated treatment sites to help with symptoms, according to the Canadian government.
While the WHO determined that the outbreak constitutes a public health emergency of international concern, it does not meet the criteria of pandemic emergency.
The outbreak is caused by Bundibugyo virus disease (BVD), a type of Ebola disease. There are no approved vaccines or specific treatments for BVD.
Most cases are reported in Ituri province, including the Mongwalu, Rwampara, and Bunia health zones. Ituri province borders Uganda, where imported cases linked to this outbreak have been reported.
Cases have also been reported in Goma, in North Kivu province. In response, border crossings between Goma and neighbouring Rwanda (Goma-Giseny) are closed until further notice due to the outbreak.
Remember when we bad travel bans for largely minor covid? But for some reason we’re accepting flights redirected from U.S. for a disease with no cure and no vaccine.
Close borders to travellers coming from or having passed through Africa.
Of course there should be a travel ban in place!!! No in or out of Africa.
Ban all flights to the US and vice versa, and close all borders to keep there stink out
Of course we need a total and complete travel ban!!!
Yes, they should consider travel bans, but I’m almost certain the liberals will not do this. I remember prior to the Covid outbreak in Canada they had every opportunity to stop it from entering the country, and the liberal government sat on its hands. What was worse, workers at our company were still travelling and came back infected (2020-2022) and were infecting entire departments. I work at a government regulated site, and they had cleaning staff in the offices at night to spray down the desks and computer stations while corporate pretend nothing was happening.
Of course they should, but it won’t happen. The LPC loves a good pandemic! Anything to tighten their grip.
Canadian health authorities have ZERO credibility since the Covid debacle and because of this Canadians no longer trust them. That is why the call from most on here is to stop the planes coming in from ebola riddled countries. Once you lose the trust of a population it is extremely hard to win it back again.
I say have reception committees to meet the planes landing in Canada from those countries that have ebola. Those committees should be made up of the elbows up crowd and the Canada hating left wingers. Let them take the chance of catching ebola first considering they were the ones who elected such an incompetent Carney Liberal government.
I thought MAGAs are agaist all these restrictions because they say viruses are just like the common cold.
Putting in restrictions may not stop it coming to Canada’s but it will slow it down enough that it could be handled by our healthcare system without it being overwhelmed after all our healthcare system is struggling now we don’t need to add to the problem by allowing people to enter from countries that have Ebola
They were useless during Covid. We restricted travel after the virus was already in Canada. What would be useful would be testing people from that region. No exceptions (pilots, crew, merchant vessels…)
100 percent Yes. But, knowing how weak our government is on actually enforcing this, ebola is probably already here. Ever wonder why all of a sudden we have instances of TB and such sprouting in Canada, especially in areas with the most ‘fugees?
YES YES YES. Why is this even a question?
Canada is too worried about offending one of their imports than protecting Canadians
Covid wasn’t that long ago, how can one inept government not learn from past mistakes
100% .. with special medical setups to screen passengers as they get off the plane IF a passenger has been to the effective locations in the last month or so..
Why we were forced to take in a Air France plane with a suspected passenger headed for Detroit is beyond me! If the US would not take them then they should have turned them around and sent them back to France!
be dumb not to. oh wait… we are dealing with liberals that let every walk of life into Canada with no check of any kind
Definitely
It shouldn’t even need to be asked. Of course Canada should be blocking travel to and from countries that are affected by Ebola. It is just common sense unfortunately “Common sense is not so common.” Voltaire, especially in those who are supposed to be ensuring the health and safety of Canadians.
Of course. Why is this even a question? Common sense. The people running this country are so weak.
Yes Canada needs to put travel restrictions in place. Our healthcare system is already in overload mode. Why does it take so long to make a decision that will help keep Canadians safe.
To late, they been letting them in.
Heck it would be more like Canada will start chartering flights from affected areas to land in major cities across the countries, kick you out of your house, and bump these people to the front of the line in hospitals.
Wait for Carneys announcement that they are looking at things and they have our best experts monitoring the situation
Canada must block all flights coming here from that part of Africa. Canada must protect its citizens and already very bad Healthcare system. You need to act NOW. You were also late when Covid started and didn’t block the flights from Covid affected countries. Do it smart.
Canada is not smart enough to make this decision until they see what all the other countries are doing… elbows up!!
Looks like Trump knows what he is doing. Meanwhile in Carneyville it is business as usual. What say you elbozos?
Stupid question.