JOHANNESBURG—South Africa has banned travelers from the three Ebola-hit West African nations, a government spokesman said on Thursday, after other countries adopted similar measures to prevent the deadly virus from breaching their borders.
South Africa's travel ban for those coming in from Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea will be in place for as long as necessary, said Jo Maila, a spokesman for the health ministry. South Africans returning from these countries would be allowed back home but would undergo extensive medical tests, Mr. Maila added.
Meanwhile, South Africa's health ministry said the country's citizens would be asked to postpone trips to those countries indefinitely and only allowed to travel if it is "absolutely essential." Mr. Maila said that South Africa travelers heading to the countries would be quizzed on the necessity of their travel at the airport by Home Affairs officials.
The move by South Africa follows a similar ban by Kenya last week. Zambia has also banned travelers from infected countries, while several African nations have restricted air travel to and from them. Johannesburg's O.R. Tambo airport and Nairobi's Jomo Kenyatta International Airport are the continent's two major airport hubs.
The World Health Organization has urged airlines and countries to avoid isolating the three West African nations. The global health body has said Ebola isn't contagious until symptoms appear, and even then it requires bodily fluid to spread by contact. Contracting the disease during air travel is extremely unlikely, it says, and blanket bans and flight restrictions threaten fragile economies.
Mr. Maila, the health ministry spokesman, waved aside the WHO's advice against travel bans. "All other countries are doing this too," he said. Asked if South Africa's decision was a result of Kenya's earlier ban, Mr. Maila said the country had made its own call "based on its own assessment."
The South African health ministry has come under pressure from the public and the press to keep the virus out of the country. There have been no cases of the disease in South Africa since the outbreak began, and one suspected Ebola patient tested negative for the virus last week.
The government will grant the health ministry 32.5 million rand ($3 million) in emergency funding to step up prevention efforts, the ministry said, adding that part of the funds will go toward deploying a mobile laboratory in Sierra Leone.
As of Monday, 1,350 people had died of Ebola since the current outbreak started in March, according to the latest update from the WHO issued that day.
The disease has spread rapidly through Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, largely because of an inability to fight it. Doctors in Liberia have lacked basic protective equipment such as latex gloves. The country's residents have also resisted efforts to impose quarantines in certain areas. On Wednesday, soldiers fired live ammunition after people in one district tried to breach a security cordon.
On Tuesday, the African Union authorized the deployment of a military and civilian humanitarian mission to Ebola-affected areas. The mission will include doctors, other health workers and military personnel, the AU said. It wasn't immediately clear how large the mission would be.
Write to Matina Stevis at matina.stevis@wsj.com
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