Sierra Leone has condemned Australia’s decision to suspend entry visas for people from Ebola-affected countries in West Africa as “counterproductive” and “discriminatory”.
The move has also been criticised by Amnesty International.
And UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has said travel restrictions will severely curtail efforts to beat Ebola.
Nearly 5,000 people have died from the virus, the vast majority of them in Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea.
In other developments:
– Eighty-two people who had contact with a toddler who died in Mali are now being monitored
– A Dallas nurse now free of Ebola is due to be discharged from hospital
– New US federal guidelines say medics returning from treating Ebola patients in West Africa should be actively monitored but not placed in quarantine – but some states say they will continue with their quarantine polices
– Separately, the US Army has imposed a 21-day monitoring period for all soldiers returning from the region
‘Protect Australians’
The Australian government announced on Monday that it was cancelling non-permanent or temporary visas held by people from the affected countries who were not yet travelling, and that new visa applications would not be processed.
Permanent visa holders yet to arrive in Australia must undergo a 21-day quarantine process before departure.
Immigration Minister Scott Morrison told parliament: “The government’s systems and processes are working to protect Australians.”
But Sierra Leone’s Information Minister Alpha Kanu described the move as “too draconian”, insisting that measures put in place at Sierra Leone’s Freetown airport had successfully prevented anyone flying out of the country with Ebola.
“It is discriminatory in that… it is not [going] after Ebola but rather it is… [going] against the 24 million citizens of Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea. Certainly, it is not the right way to go,” he told Reuters news agency. “This measure by the Australian government is absolutely counterproductive.”
Ugandan government spokesman Ofwono Opondo said: “Western countries are creating mass panic which is unhelpful in containing a contagious disease like Ebola.
“If they create mass panic… this fear will eventually spread beyond ordinary people to health workers or people who transport the sick and then what will happen? Entire populations will be wiped out.”
Amnesty International said Australia was taking a “narrow approach”.
A spokesman for the human rights group said the ban made no sense from a health perspective but ensured that vulnerable people were trapped in a crisis area.
‘Fear factor’
Meanwhile, the president of the World Bank has appealed for thousands of medical workers to volunteer and help contain the growing Ebola outbreak in West Africa.
Jim Yong Kim said at least 5,000 medics and support staff were needed to beat the disease.
Source-BBC
