The Kenyan government over the weekend said it will bar passengers travelling from three West African countries hit by the Ebola outbreak, closing a debate in East Africa’s economic powerhouse about whether the national airline was exposing the country to the deadly disease. Nigeria was not included in the ban, which also allows entry to health professionals and Kenyans returning from those countries.

The suspension is effective midnight on Tuesday for all ports of entry for people travelling from or through Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia, said Kenya’s Health Ministry.

 “This step is in line with the recognition of the extraordinary measures urgently required to contain the Ebola outbreak in West Africa,” the Health Ministry said. It cited the World Health Organisation’s recent statement that the magnitude of the Ebola outbreak has been underestimated.

Following the government’s announcement on Saturday, Kenya Airways said it would suspend flights to Liberia and Sierra Leone. Kenya Airways, a major transport provider in Africa, has wrestled with the decision whether to continue flying to West Africa during the Ebola outbreak. Its suspension of flights is an abrupt reversal of its announcement on Friday that it would continue flying.

The World Health Organisation has denounced the travel bans. The virus has a low transmission risk during air travel, since it is spread via bodily fluid and is not airborne, said Isabelle Nuttall, director of the organisation’s Global Capacity Alert and Response. Her statement came a day after the organisation classified Kenya as a high-risk country for Ebola transmission, citing its status as a regional transport hub.

“When decisions are made by airline companies, they have to take into consideration their perceived risk and the real economic impact on countries that are already affected by a disease they have to control,” Ms. Nuttall said Thursday in Geneva.