Canada has extended travel and immigration restrictions related to the Ebola outbreak for another 60 days, and the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Ministry of Health released new data showing there have been more than 8,000 cases of the virus.
People from Uganda, South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo have been banned from traveling to Canada since May.
The measures were scheduled to end on Monday at midnight but have been extended until November 27.
Immigration documents, including valid visas and travel permits, remain pending for people from the three countries, leaving tens of thousands in limbo.
This includes people who have been granted residency but are not in Canada.
Foreign nationals who are not from the three affected countries but have been in the DRC in the last 21 days cannot board a flight to Canada or transit through Canada, while those arriving from South Sudan and Uganda must quarantine for 21 days.
Canadian citizens or permanent residents who have been in one of the affected countries need to quarantine for 21 days upon their return to Canada.
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More than 3,900 people have died in the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo since May. The country is struggling to contain the rare Bundibugyo virus, which has no known treatment or vaccine.
The outbreak in Uganda was declared over in late August after 20 people became ill, while South Sudan has not reported any cases.
The border measures were initially announced ahead of the FIFA World Cup. Canadian government officials, including Health Minister Marjorie Michel and Immigration Minister Lina Diab, said the measures were a safety precaution in line with the United States and Mexico, the tournament’s host nations.
The U.S. government still prohibits people who have been in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the past 21 days from traveling to the United States, and only allows foreign nationals who have been in Uganda and South Sudan to enter the United States if they have been outside those countries for 21 days.
The World Health Organization criticized these measures, saying they were based on fear and not science. The agency does not recommend travel restrictions, and notes that the risk of transmission of the Ebola virus during air travel is low because it is not transmitted by air.
The European Center for Disease Prevention and Control notes that the risk of importing the virus “remains very low” and the European Union has not imposed travel restrictions from affected countries.
Humanitarian workers from Canada say the restrictions are hampering their work and could harm the international response to the outbreak.
The World Health Organization said last week that the Democratic Republic of the Congo suffers from a shortage of health workers to contain the disease. She said this is the fastest-growing Ebola outbreak in history, and is on track to become the deadliest, with a fatality rate of 48 percent.
—With files from The Associated Press
& Edition 2026 The Canadian Press
