Canada imposes visa ban on three Ebola-hit countries

(Reuters) - Canada will stop issuing visas to people from the three West African nations where Ebola is widespread, the government said on Friday.

The federal citizenship ministry, explaining the move, said in an official document that "the introduction or spread of the disease would pose an imminent and severe risk to public health".

About 5,000 people have died in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone this year in the worst Ebola outbreak on record. Fears rose that the disease could spread beyond the region after a few cases were diagnosed in Spain and the United States.

Canada, which has not reported any cases of Ebola, is following in the footsteps of Australia, which on Tuesday became the first rich nation to issue such a ban. The country's official in charge of the response to Ebola said the move was medically unjustified.

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Freetown (AFP) - Sierra Leone accused Canada on Saturday of discrimination over its decision to suspend visa applications for residents of Ebola-hit nations.

Immigration Canada announced on Friday it would not process applications from individuals who had been in an Ebola-affected nation within the previous three months.
"The government views the decision as discriminatory, coming at a time when we are trying to ease the isolation, and not re-enforce it," said Theo Nicol, Sierra Leone's deputy information minister.

Canada's immigration minister Chris Alexander had described the move as a precautionary measure building on actions "taken to protect the health and safety of Canadians here at home".

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