{"id":687254,"date":"2026-05-22T22:15:16","date_gmt":"2026-05-22T22:15:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/687254\/"},"modified":"2026-05-22T22:15:16","modified_gmt":"2026-05-22T22:15:16","slug":"canada-adds-ebola-screening-at-airports-as-ontario-test-comes-back-negative","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/687254\/","title":{"rendered":"Canada adds Ebola screening at airports as Ontario test comes back negative"},"content":{"rendered":"

Canada has introduced enhanced screening measures for Ebola<\/a> at airports for returning travellers, Canada\u2019s top doctor said Friday after confirming an individual who was tested in Ontario is negative for the deadly virus.<\/p>\n

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Dr. Joss Reimer noted during a virtual press conference that the risk of the outbreak spreading in parts of Africa<\/a> remains low for Canadians, and wouldn\u2019t say if she would recommend a travel ban for those countries.<\/a><\/p>\n

She said the proactive testing of the individual in Ontario, who had reported symptoms \u201cconsistent with a range of illnesses\u201d after returning from Ethiopia, was \u201ca good example of how quickly measures are activated\u201d when a potential case emerges.<\/p>\n

\u201cBoth the initial testing that was conducted in Ontario as well as confirmatory testing at the National Microbiology Laboratory were negative,\u201d Reimer said.<\/p>\n

She also confirmed the \u201cpassenger of concern\u201d aboard a flight that was redirected to Montreal on Wednesday<\/a> was assessed and declared asymptomatic for Ebola by Public Health Agency of Canada quarantine officers, and the individual has since returned to their point of origin.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t3:36
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tOne person tested for Ebola in Ontario\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\tEnhanced screening for international travellers\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Reimer said the enhanced \u201ccomprehensive\u201d screening has been in place at Canadian airport inspection kiosks since Wednesday, asking additional questions including whether returning travellers have been to the Democratic Republic of Congo or neighbouring Uganda within 21 days of arriving in Canada.<\/p>\n

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Travellers are asked to self-identify if they are experiencing symptoms or if they have been in contact with someone who has tested positive for Ebola, she added.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI just returned from Switzerland, and I can personally attest that I was asked additional questions regarding whether I had travelled to the area, whether I had any symptoms that could be related to Ebola,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Additional quarantine and screening teams have been deployed at the most common ports of entry, Reimer said, and information signage has been posted.<\/p>\n

Reimer said these measures were appropriate given the current state of the outbreak when asked if she would recommend travel restrictions or a ban, something she noted would be a decision made by cabinet rather than herself.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s important that we look at how effective things like travel bans are,\u201d she said. \u201cWe need to be looking at whether or not there is any evidence that the outbreak is escaping the area (where) it\u2019s currently concentrated. We also need to be looking at things like how the virus is spread.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to really highlight that Ebola is very different than respiratory viruses like COVID. The way that (Ebola) spreads is from much closer and prolonged contact. And so we do need to manage this virus differently than how we did with things like COVID or influenza or measles.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tEbola outbreak \u2018spreading rapidly\u2019 as suspected cases rise, WHO chief says\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tMore on Health
\n\t\t\tMore videos\n\t\t<\/p>\n

Reimer said she will be providing advice to cabinet on \u201cthis very fluid, rapidly evolving situation\u201d with the latest information from the World Health Organization and the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, so that \u201cdecision-makers have all the up-to-date-information as they make this difficult decision\u201d on whether to institute travel measures.<\/p>\n

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The head of the World Health Organization said Friday<\/a> that the\u00a0Ebola outbreak\u00a0in Congo is \u201cspreading rapidly\u201d and poses a \u201cvery high\u201d risk at the national level.<\/p>\n

The U.S. has imposed an entry ban on foreign travelers who have been in Congo, Uganda, or South Sudan in the past 21 days.<\/p>\n

Reimer on Friday also gave an update on the spread of hantavirus, after multiple Canadians that were aboard a cruise ship where a deadly outbreak of the virus emerged returned to the country this month.<\/p>\n

She said there have been no additional cases beyond the lone confirmed case in British Columbia who is currently recovering in hospital. High-risk contacts who are in that person\u2019s family are continuing to be monitored by local health authorities, she added.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe overall risk to the general population in Canada remains low at this time,\u201d Reimer said.<\/p>\n

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She noted that human-to-human transmission of hantavirus, like Ebola, is rare and requires close and prolonged contact with a person exhibiting symptoms.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a robust system in place for detection, prevention and response,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

\u2014With files from Global\u2019s Adriana Fallico and Katie Scott<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWHO says risk from hantavirus to global population remains \u2018low\u2019\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\t\t&copy 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Canada has introduced enhanced screening measures for Ebola at airports for returning travellers, Canada\u2019s top doctor said Friday…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":687255,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[49,48,67435,241672,84,12537,3275],"class_list":["post-687254","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-ebola","tag-hantavirus","tag-health","tag-health-canada","tag-world"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/687254","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=687254"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/687254\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/687255"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=687254"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=687254"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=687254"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}