NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — A Kenyan court has temporarily blocked American plans to build a quarantine facility in the East African nation for U.S. citizens who have been exposed to a dangerous strain of Ebola virus currently spreading in northeastern Congo. The decision came after significant opposition from healthcare professionals and advocacy groups.
An official from the U.S. administration revealed on Wednesday that America intended to transport exposed citizens to this proposed Kenyan facility rather than bringing them back to American soil. The official requested anonymity when discussing the administration’s strategy. Details remained unclear about the specific location within Kenya for the proposed facility and whether Kenyan officials had formally approved the arrangement.
Kenya’s government acknowledged ongoing discussions with the United States regarding Ebola preparedness support but avoided directly addressing the quarantine facility proposal. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced in a statement that the U.S. government plans to provide $13.5 million to support Kenya’s Ebola readiness initiatives.
The High Court in Nairobi issued an order on Friday halting any agreements related to the Ebola facility pending the resolution of legal challenges scheduled for Tuesday.
Two separate organizations filed petitions against the facility: the Katiba Institute, which works to protect Kenya’s Constitution, and the Kenya Law Society. The Kenya Law Society requested the court invalidate any existing agreements between the two nations regarding this project, pointing to public health dangers and insufficient public consultation.
The legal group also argued that Kenya does not possess “the high-containment infrastructure required to safely manage such a facility, exposing the public to serious health risks.”
A union representing Kenyan physicians issued a 48-hour strike warning on Thursday if the government moves forward with the agreement. The union stated that since the U.S. clearly refuses to allow Ebola on American territory, Kenya should not become another “dumping ground.”
“As the vanguard of Kenya’s healthcare system, we are utterly disgusted by the government’s apparent willingness to trade national biosecurity and the lives of its citizens for foreign aid,” the union’s chairperson, Davji Atellah, said in a statement.
In northeastern Congo, healthcare professionals working with limited resources are fighting to control an outbreak of the Bundibugyo virus, an Ebola variant without any authorized treatment or vaccination.
Congolese officials have documented over 1,000 suspected infections, including at least 220 fatalities, since declaring the outbreak on May 15. However, the virus had been circulating undetected for weeks, and the WHO believes the actual scope exceeds reported numbers.
The outbreak has also crossed into neighboring Uganda, which has reported seven confirmed cases and one death.
