Jamaica has become the latest nation to bar travelers coming from the Ebola-affected countries of Liberia, Guinea, and Sierra Leone.
Announced yesterday, it takes immediate effect and follows similar moves in Colombia, Guyana and the Caribbean island of St Lucia.
A government statement said the ban covers ‘certain persons travelling directly or indirectly, from or through’ the three affected West African countries.
The statement went on to clarify that ‘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,’ will be refused entry.
The government also said Jamaican citizens and permanent residents coming from these countries would be quarantined on arrival ‘in the interest of public health and national security’ for 28 days.
In the US, the Obama administration is coming under more intense pressure to impose similar restrictions after an Ebola-infected nurse was permitted to fly by commercial jet.
