WASHINGTON: The United States, Mexico and Canada on Thursday announced aligned public health travel measures for people coming from African regions at the greatest risk from Ebola, they said in a joint statement, as they aim to protect citizens and visitors during the World Cup.
“The health and safety of every person in the region remains our highest priority as we welcome the world to North America,” they said in the statement, which did not detail the aligned measures.
The World Health Organization on Sunday, May 17, declared an Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo a Public Health Emergency of International Concern and said there was a high risk it could spread to neighboring countries.
The decision has prompted governments to step up travel-related containment measures. Washington last week banned non-citizens who had traveled to the DRC, Uganda or South Sudan in recent weeks from entering the United States. On Friday, the ban was extended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to green card holders who have been in those countries in the previous 21 days.
Canada has banned residents from the DRC, Uganda and South Sudan from entering the country for 90 days, which started on Wednesday.
Canadian citizens, permanent residents and other foreign nationals who have been in affected areas in recent weeks and do not have symptoms will have to quarantine for 21 days from May 30, according to a statement from Canada’s public health agency.
Mexico’s Health Secretary David Kershenovich on Monday outlined tighter Ebola screening measures at airports, urging the public to avoid travel to DRC and asking arrivals from the country to observe a 21-day quarantine.