Larry Madowo denied El Salvador Visa over Ebola after US raised Kenya travel advisory

CNN International correspondent Larry Madowo has revealed that El Salvador denied his visa application over Kenya’s Ebola cases, days after the United States raised its travel advisory for Kenya .

Madowo on Wednesday, October 21, in a video shared on social media, said the visa denial came when Kenya had reported eight Ebola cases.

He said El Salvador’s restrictions extended beyond Kenya and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where the outbreak began, to six other African countries, including some that had not reported cases.

“I've just been denied a visa because of Ebola. This was by El Salvador, and that was when Kenya had eight Ebola cases,” Madowo said.

According Madowo, the application for a special entry permit was rejected under an El Salvador health directive that bars entry to people arriving from or transiting through Kenya, the DRC and six other African countries.

He listed Angola, the Central African Republic, Ethiopia, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi among the other countries affected by the restrictions.

The journalist further said he had previously visited El Salvador and met President Nayib Bukele.

According to Madowo, he had planned to return to volunteer but said he would not proceed with the trip following the visa denial.

“And to be clear, Kenya insists that there is no widespread community transmission of Ebola,” he added.

Kenya had confirmed nine Ebola cases by October 20, according to the Ministry of Health.

The latest infection involved a close family member of the first patient, who was already in quarantine before testing positive.

Authorities have linked the confirmed cases to one cluster and reported no evidence of transmission beyond it.

The outbreak involves the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola. Kenya confirmed its first imported case in early October involving a Kenyan citizen who had been living in the DRC.

The patient travelled through Uganda before arriving in Nairobi and later died.

The Ministry of Health has continued contact tracing and quarantine measures as it monitors people who may have been exposed to the virus.

The developments come as the US Department of State raises its travel advisory for Kenya from Level 2, which advises travellers to exercise increased caution, to Level 3, urging Americans to reconsider travel.

The advisory, issued on October 19, cites health risks, crime, kidnapping, terrorism, civil unrest and traffic safety.

It also references a US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention travel health notice for Ebola Bundibugyo virus disease in Kenya.

The US has separately designated several areas in Kenya as Level 4, carrying a “Do Not Travel” warning.

These include Nairobi’s Eastleigh and Kibera neighbourhoods, parts of the northeastern region and areas along the coast, as well as locations near the Ethiopian border.

The restrictions are based on specified security risks, including crime, kidnapping, terrorism and unrest.

The advisory does not amount to a blanket ban on Americans travelling to Kenya.

Instead, it asks them to reconsider trips nationwide while maintaining stricter warnings for the named locations.

Kenyan authorities have maintained that the confirmed infections remain linked to a single cluster, with no evidence of widespread community transmission reported as of October 20.