Ebola, which is the encompassing term used for a rare group of viruses that damage the organs and lead to internal bleeding, regularly breaks out in certain parts of sub-Saharan Africa due to the presence of a specific fruit fly host native to the region.
The new Bundibugyo strain has caused a recent outbreak with at least 1,000 cases spread across the Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan, and Uganda. As of May 27, there have also been 223 confirmed deaths. Similar Ebola outbreaks occurred in 2014, 2018, 2020, and 2025.
Although the risk of catching Ebola for those outside the affected regions remains very low, a number of countries have taken measures to restrict exposure through travel.
Canada, the Bahamas become latest countries to issue Ebola travel bans
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) implemented a new entry ban on any non-citizens who traveled to Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, or South Sudan in the last 21 days. As a result, an Air France flight headed from Paris to Detroit on May 21 was diverted to Montreal to disembark a passenger from the DRC.
While Canada had no restrictions on Ebola travel at the time, the Canadian government has now introduced its own entry ban of residents of those three countries for the next 90 days.
Related: Flight diverted from the U.S. over ebola virus fears
Canadian citizens and permanent residents are able to enter Canada but will have to quarantine for 21 days.
“These temporary border measures will help reduce the risk of Ebola disease entering the country while ensuring that travelers are managed based on their level of risk,” Canadian Health Minister Marjorie Michel said in a statement, CBC reported.
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What the Ebola outbreak means for your travel
The Bahamas is another country that is preparing to put in place an entry ban for residents of South Sudan, Uganda, and DRC for the next 30 days.
Non-citizens, including Bahamians, who visited these three countries over the last 30 days will be subject to more advanced screening and a potential quarantine upon seeking entry to the Bahamas.
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The exact terms are set to be worked out by the Caribbean country’s health ministry in the coming days. Thailand is another nation currently weighing potential travel and quarantine restrictions.
Even before the Ebola-related travel restrictions, citizens of South Sudan and DRC were already included in the travel ban put in place by the Trump administration in 2025 as part of an anti-immigration crackdown.
New reporting from the Wall Street Journal indicated that President Donald Trump plans to send U.S. public health officers to a facility in Kenya where U.S. citizens exposed to the virus will be screened, instead of allowing them to come home for monitoring and quarantine.
Details around the quarantine facility being built together with the Kenyan government have not been publicly confirmed, but the plan caused immediate public outcry over the potential legal challenges involved in not allowing Americans exposed to the virus to come home.
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