Ebola quarantine center for Americans working in Kenya despite ban, activists say

What the report says

ABC News, carrying an Associated Press report from Nairobi, said Kenyan activists on Monday accused officials of disregarding a court order that had stopped the opening of a U.S.-backed Ebola quarantine facility. The dispute follows reports that Americans evacuated from the Democratic Republic of Congo, where an Ebola outbreak is underway, were already being isolated in Kenya.

According to the report, Samaritan’s Purse, a U.S.-based humanitarian organization, said seven of its American staff members who had worked in Congo were in Kenya for a 21-day quarantine in large military tents, with no symptoms reported so far. The organization did not identify the site. Local media have linked the planned facility to Laikipia Air Base, near Nanyuki, about 185 kilometers north of Nairobi. Residents in Nanyuki have protested the plan, and AP reported that two people died after demonstrations turned violent.

The AP said Kenya has no confirmed Ebola cases, while the outbreak in Congo has killed at least 930 people among 2,344 confirmed cases. Kenya is a close U.S. partner, and Washington has pledged $13.5 million for Ebola preparedness in the country. President William Ruto has defended the quarantine project as part of cooperation with the United States and has said 24 more preparedness centers are planned with U.S. support.

The legal challenge was brought by the Law Society of Kenya and Katiba Institute, which warned that Kenya’s health system could be strained if Ebola spread. A court order last month barred the facility from becoming operational, and Health Minister Aden Duale later suspended construction. AP said Kenya’s Health Ministry, the U.S. State Department and Laikipia Air Base did not respond to requests for comment.