South Africa said on Thursday that due to fears over the spread of the Ebola virus, it was banning travellers from Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone from entering the country, apart from its own citizens.
Travellers from Nigeria, where there is a much smaller outbreak, would, however, be allowed entry.
South African citizens returning from the three highest risk countries would be permitted entry but subject to a stricter screening process, a government statement said.
The deadly Ebola disease has killed more than 1,300 people this year in the three small West African states and also has a toehold in Nigeria, Africa’s biggest economy.