OTTAWA, Canada (AFP) — Canada on Friday announced it was suspending visa applications for residents of Ebola-hit nations in a bid to prevent the deadly virus from crossing its borders.

Immigration Canada said authorities would not process any visa applications from individuals who had been in an Ebola-affected nation “within three months prior to the date of the application.”

A statement said immigration authorities would also not issue new visa applications or process existing applications from foreign nationals intending to travel to an Ebola-affected nation.

The rule did not affect applications for visa renewals of foreign nationals who are already in Canada, the statement said.

Although Canada has had several alerts for possible Ebola cases, the country has yet to record its first confirmed incidence of the disease.

The World Health Organization said Friday that Ebola had infected a total of 13,567 people so far, claiming 4,951 lives, mostly in Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone.