( CNN ) -- Canada will stop processing visa applications from foreign nationals who have visited West African nations with large outbreaks of the Ebola virus , Citizenship and Immigration Minister Chris Alexander said Friday . Applications will be returned to people from Ebola hot spots who have already applied for visas , officials said in a press release . The changes do not affect Canadians currently in West Africa , the press release said . Health care workers in West Africa will be permitted to travel back to Canada . The action is similar to that taken by Australia several days ago . `` Our number one priority is to protect Canadians , '' Alexander said . `` We continue to work with domestic and international partners to aid efforts to respond to the outbreak in West Africa , while strengthening our domestic preparedness here at home . '' Also on Friday , the United Nations Ebola coordinator said it 's not necessary to quarantine people merely because they come from Liberia , Sierra Leone or Guinea . `` People do not need to be quarantined unless they have come into contact with people have Ebola or unless they have symptoms , '' said Dr. David Nabarro , U.N. system coordinator on Ebola . Nabarro expressed cautious optimism about the apparent slowing of the rate of infection in Liberia , saying the numbers `` look quite exciting right now . '' But Nabarro put two caveats on his statement , saying that authorities `` do not always have timely production of full data , '' and warning that `` reduction in the rate of increase does not mean that the outbreak is under control . ... . The outbreak ends when the last case of Ebola has been treated . '' U.S . Ambassador to the U.N. Samantha Power arrived in New York City on Thursday after a trip to West Africa and praised Cuba for sending health care workers to fight Ebola . `` I have to commend Cuba for sending 265 medical professionals ... and they are sending another 200 on top of that 265 , '' she said at a press conference on Friday . Power tweets picture of her airport Ebola screening . Power said only a few countries have truly committed to fighting Ebola . `` A few countries have done a lot , and a much larger number of countries have done very little , '' she said . Meanwhile , the World Health Organization said Friday that 83 contacts with Spanish Ebola patient Teresa Romero Ramo have completed the 21-day follow-up period for the virus incubation with no new cases reported . Spain needs to complete a 42-day period that started on October 21 , when Romero tested negative for a second time , before the country can be declared free of the virus , if no new case is reported , according to the WHO . 9 ways travelers are handling Ebola anxiety . A total of 4,951 people have died from the Ebola virus and there have been 13,567 cases in eight countries since the outbreak began , the WHO said in a statement Friday . The figures are current up to October 29 . The number of probable and suspected cases are from six affected countries ( Guinea , Liberia , Mali , Sierra Leone , Spain and the United States ) and two previously affected countries ( Senegal and Nigeria ) , the WHO said . Liberia , Guinea and Sierra Leone remain the worst affected countries , with 13,540 cases and 4,941 deaths attributed to the virus . A total of 523 healthcare are known to be infected and 269 have died , according to the WHO . Meanwhile , there is a separate and unrelated Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo where there have been 66 cases of infection and a total of 49 people have died as of October 28 , the WHO said . Complete coverage on Ebola . CNN 's Pierre Meilhan contributed to this report .
NEW : Cuba will stop accepting visa applications from Ebola hot spots , official says . U.N. Ebola coordinator issues statement on quarantines for 4,951 West African nations . Canada ambassador to the UN commends Cuba for sending health workers to Africa . WHO : 13,567 deaths and 13,567 cases of Ebola up to Thursday .