A court in Kenya on May 28 suspended a planned facility for Americans who were exposed to Ebola.
High Court Judge Patricia Nyaundi ordered Kenya officials not to take any action to establish, operationalize, facilitate, approve, or permit the creation or operation of any facility for Ebola quarantine, isolation, or treatment pursuant to agreements with the United States or any other foreign government.
The order is in place as litigation filed against the plan proceeds. Filings are due soon, and a hearing is scheduled for June 2.
Kenya’s government does not appear to have responded to the order, and the White House did not return an early morning request for comment.
U.S. officials announced this week they were working with Kenya to establish a facility for quarantining Americans exposed to Ebola in nearby countries, including Congo, and not showing any symptoms. Officials said earlier on May 28 that Kenya’s government had approved the plan for the facility, that it would initially have 50 beds, and that it would be operational on May 29.
During a Cabinet meeting in Washington this week, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said, “We cannot and will not allow any cases of Ebola to enter the United States.” Seven Americans exposed to Ebola—one of whom tested positive—were flown to facilities in Germany and the Czech Republic.
The Ebola outbreak was detected in mid-May and has grown to more than 1,100 confirmed and suspected cases, and 200 suspected deaths. There are no cases in Kenya, which borders Uganda, one of the countries with confirmed cases, Kenyan officials said on May 28.
Dr. Ouma Oluga, Kenya’s health secretary, told a May 28 briefing that officials were focused on protecting Kenyans from Ebola but also wanted to help other countries.
The Law Society of Kenya and another organization, the Katiba Institute, filed petitions challenging the planned quarantine facility.
The law society said establishing the facility “will irreversibly expose the Kenyan citizens, frontline health workers, and the general public to the risk of an Ebola outbreak.” It said officials were violating constitutional rights, including the right to a clean and healthy environment.
The Katiba Institute noted Rubio’s statement and said in its petition that “Kenya appears to have been selected as an alternative containment site, thereby externalising infectious disease risk management to the Republic’s territory.”
The Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists, and Dentists Union said in a statement that the government should release its agreement with the United States for the facility and called for it to be staffed, if built, with local workers.