WHO asks countries to lift travel restrictions due to Ebola

JAKARTA - Director of the World Health Organization (WHO) Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus urged countries to lift travel restrictions imposed due to the Ebola epidemic in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

The request was made because the ban made it difficult to deliver aid to the affected areas.

"The comprehensive travel restrictions imposed by a number of countries disrupt supply chains and hinder treatment efforts. WHO recommends screening at departure at airports, ports, and border crossings to prevent the spread of cases and contacts outside the region," Ghebreyesus said, quoted by ANTARA from Sputnik, Thursday, June 4.

His party asked countries that imposed comprehensive travel restrictions to lift them.

On May 15, the WHO declared the Ebola outbreaks in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda as a public health emergency of international concern.

Then in late May, the Ugandan Ministry of Health said the government had decided to close the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo amid an unfavorable epidemiological situation there.

The New York Times newspaper reported the same day that the United States intended to send Americans infected with Ebola to Kenya for treatment. However, on May 29, Kenya's High Court temporarily banned the entry of people infected with the virus into the country.

Ebola is a disease that is often fatal and is transmitted from wild animals such as bats and primates to humans. People can be infected from others through direct contact with blood and other body fluids or with contaminated objects.

The United Nations estimates the average death rate for the disease is 50 percent, but has reached as high as 90 percent in previous outbreaks.