WASHINGTON, November 1 (RIA Novosti) — Canadian federal citizenship ministry on Friday announced that it is suspending visa applications from anyone, who has recently visited Ebola-hit countries.
“Effective immediately, Canadian visa officers have temporarily paused the processing of visa applications from foreign nationals, who have been physically present in a country, designated by the World Health Organization (WHO) as having widespread and intense transmission of the Ebola virus,” the official statement, published on Canadian government’s website, said.
According to the document, the new measures have been introduced to protect the health and safety of Canadians.
The current Ebola epidemic, one of the current global security threats, started in southern Guinea in February and later spread to other West African countries, with several Ebola cases, having been reported in Europe and in the United States.
Over 4,900 people have died from the current Ebola outbreak, with more than 13,700 confirmed, probable, and suspected cases of the virus.
