World Health Organization chief warns countries against travel restrictions due to Ebola

Director General of the World Health Organization (WHO) Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Saturday urged countries, which have imposed travel restrictions and closed their borders following the outbreak of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda, to reconsider the measures.

Canada and the US have imposed travel restrictions and visa suspensions for residents from Congo, Uganda and South Sudan, citing the outbreak.

Rwanda and Uganda have limited travel from Congo. The two countries share borders with Congo.

Foreign nationals who have travelled through Congo in the last 30 days are not allowed entry into Rwanda.

Addressing a news conference in Bunia, the capital of Ituri province and the epicentre of the outbreak, Tedros said unity and solidarity are the best weapons of protection against the Ebola epidemic, while travel restrictions could discourage transparency in reporting cases.

He urged local communities to remain at the center of the response to the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, for which no approved vaccine or treatment currently exists.

“We are not here to tell people what to do. We are here to listen,” he said. “Communities understand their own challenges and their own solutions. Our role is to support you in implementing those solutions, together,” he said.

At least 134 confirmed cases have been reported in the current outbreak in the Congo and Uganda, according to an update released Friday by the WHO.

Deaths from Ebola stand at 18 among the confirmed cases in the two countries.

Congolese health authorities indicate that new suspected cases continue to be registered with a cumulative number of more than 1,000 recorded since the outbreak was declared May 15.

The Bundibugyo strain of Ebola is concentrated in three eastern Congolese provinces, including Ituri, North Kivu and South Kivu.