KINGSTON, Jamaica  – The prime minister of the Caribbean island of St. Lucia has given an order to bar entry to anyone coming from three West African nations struggling with Ebola epidemics.

Prime Minister Kenny Anthony announced Wednesday that visitors from Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone may not enter St. Lucia until further notice.

Anthony says the travel ban is necessary because St. Lucia is a poor, small country that does not have the capacity “to manage any crisis that lands on our doorstep.”

He says passengers from another African nation, Nigeria, will be required to present a “recent medical certificate” clearing them of the virus. Specifics of how this might work were not immediately provided.

It can take up to 21 days before a person infected with Ebola starts to show symptoms.