VIENNA, Nov. 3 -- UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Monday criticized the "unnecessarily" strong restrictions and discrimination against health workers who are risking lives fighting the Ebola virus.

The UN chief said the health workers who are helping people infected with Ebola should neither be restricted from doing their jobs nor discriminated against based of the nature of their work.

"They are risking their own lives," Ban said.

"The best way to stop this virus is to stop it at its source rather than limiting or restricting the movement of people," the UN chief said at a news conference in Austria's capital.

"Of course, when somebody has a symptom, those people should be immediately treated and supported and evacuated when necessary," Ban added.

Ban said over 250 health workers have already died in the process of providing health services to affected people.