Kingston - Jamaica announced an immediate travel ban on Thursday on foreigners who have travelled through the Ebola-affected countries of Liberia, Guinea, and Sierra Leone.
A government statement said the ban covered “certain persons travelling directly or indirectly, from or through” the three West African countries, where nearly 4 500 people have died of the disease.
Other countries, including Colombia, Guyana and the Caribbean island of St Lucia, have also begun denying entry to travellers who recently visited the Ebola-affected nations.
In the United States, the Obama administration is also under pressure from congressional lawmakers to ban travel from epidemic-stricken West Africa.
Jamaica's travel ban extends to “persons ordinarily resident in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone as well as persons who have travelled to or transited through Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, within 28 days of having departed from these countries,” the government said, describing it as a temporary measure to protect human and animal health.
The government also said Jamaican citizens and residents would quarantined, in the interest of public health and national security, for 28 days after any travel to Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.
This also applied to members of international organisations with a right of entry to the country. - Reuters