Are Ebola travel restrictions necessary? PHAC, health professionals disagree – National
The Public Health Agency of Canada says that temporarily blocking the entry of people from countries affected by Ebola is necessary to reduce the risk of importing the disease, despite the recommendation of the World Health Organization against travel restrictions.
“The health and safety of Canadians will always be a priority for the Government of Canada,” a spokesperson said in an email to The Canadian Press.
“While the health risk to Canadians from Ebola remains low, we are prioritizing a precautionary approach to ensure the safety and security of Canadians … especially in the context of the FIFA World Cup.”
On Thursday, Canada, the United States and Mexico issued a statement saying they “coordinated public health travel measures for people from regions of Africa at high risk of the Ebola virus.”
“This coordinated approach aims to protect our citizens and the millions of tourists, fans, athletes and visitors expected during the 2026 FIFA World Cup, while maintaining movement and trade across our borders,” the statement said.
Hundreds of thousands of people from around the world are expected to flock to Toronto and Vancouver in June and July for the games.
But some infectious disease experts in Canada have sided with the WHO, saying restrictions are not an effective way to prevent people from contracting Ebola in the country.
Canada has never had a case of Ebola.
Canadian officials said that as of Wednesday, final decisions on immigration and travel applications for people from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda and South Sudan will be suspended for 90 days, although that could be extended or removed depending on how the pandemic unfolds.
Citizens from all three countries require a visa to enter Canada.
Officials also announced a mandatory 21-day self-isolation period for anyone who has traveled to those countries. That measure will go into effect Saturday under the Secession Act and run until Aug. 29.
The federal government said it was taking the measures “out of an abundance of caution” as health workers struggled to contain an outbreak of the Bundibugyo virus, a rare strain of Ebola, in the DRC. There are a few cases in neighboring Uganda, which responded by closing its border on Wednesday. There have been no reported cases in South Sudan, but it shares a border with both countries.
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Unlike the other more common type of Ebola virus, there is no licensed vaccine or treatment for Bundibugyo virus.
Family members of an Ebola victim mourn during a funeral at the Rwampara cemetery, Rwampara, Congo, Saturday, May 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)
In an email to The Canadian Press on Wednesday, the WHO said it “advises against any restrictions on travel and/or trade in the DRC or Uganda based on the information available on the current outbreak.”
“No country should close its borders or impose restrictions on movement and trade. Such measures are often used out of fear and have no basis in science,” said spokesman Tarik Jašarević.
“Most importantly, these restrictions can also jeopardize the local economy and have a negative impact on the effectiveness of the response in terms of security and logistics.”
In response, the Public Health Agency of Canada said, “WHO noted that there is considerable uncertainty about the actual number of people infected, the geographic spread and the epidemiological link between cases.”
Dr. Allison McGeer, an infectious disease specialist at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto, said she can see how the measures could hamper Canada’s efforts to fight the Ebola outbreak in the DRC.
“I have received emails from people who are thinking of helping in the control of the epidemic. And some of them must think that if they come back they will be isolated for three weeks.”
McGeer said the science does not support broad travel restrictions as the most effective way to reduce risk in Canada.
The Democratic Republic of Congo is a large country and the outbreak is in Ituri province, far from the capital, he said.
“This would be something that could have scientific reasons if we could clarify where people came from,” he said.
In addition, Ebola is less contagious than COVID-19, influenza or measles and is spread through contact with bodily fluids. People are also not contagious until they show symptoms.
“I get the fact that Ebola is very scary. And I understand, you know, the reaction and the feeling that closing our borders will protect us,” she said.
But “statistically, it’s very unlikely that anyone (with Ebola) will come. And if they do, we can absolutely manage the illness, the non-communicable illness until you get sick,” McGeer said.
Angela Rasmussen, a virologist at the University of Saskatchewan who has studied Ebola, also said the travel restrictions are not based on science.
“I think screening travelers, certainly, from affected areas is a good idea – you know, to check them for symptoms and check them,” he said.
“But I don’t think it supports revoking immigration documents or immigration papers or the ability to immigrate to Canada or go to Canada based solely on national origin.”
Rasmussen said Ebola usually spreads to people who care for Ebola patients, including health workers or family members, or by touching the bodies of dead people.
Although he thinks all the people arriving from the DRC, Uganda and South Sudan are “very bad” and that the restrictions should be clear geographically, Rasmussen said that isolating people and monitoring for symptoms is enough to prevent the spread of Ebola in Canada.
But Dr. Matthew Runnalls, medical director of the World Cup organizing team in Toronto, said that while Ebola is not as contagious as other viruses, the travel restrictions “make perfect sense.”
“I think this is a very dangerous situation, especially in North America, but it’s a very dangerous virus,” said Runnalls, who is also an emergency physician at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Center in Toronto.
“When you talk about a tournament of this scale and size and the number of people who come and will attend it, we also want to … make sure that the event itself does not become a widespread opportunity.”
– With files from Hannah Alberga
