Nairobi, Kenya —
Kenya’s High Court has temporarily frozen a U.S. plan to establish an Ebola isolation and treatment facility in Kenya, where no Ebola cases have been recorded, for Americans who may have been exposed to the deadly virus more than 1,500 miles away in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
The move comes after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio vowed earlier this week that the US “cannot and will not allow any cases of Ebola to enter the United States,” sparking fierce opposition from Kenyan civil society who slammed the apparent double standards. The rapidly growing outbreak, officially declared in the Democratic Republic of Congo on May 15, is believed to be responsible for at least 238 deaths and more than 1,000 suspected infections.
The deadly outbreak is caused by the Bundibugyo strain, a rare form of Ebola for which no vaccine or treatment has been approved. The virus has also spread to Uganda, which shares borders with Kenya and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. One person has died from the virus in Uganda and at least seven cases have been confirmed, according to the Ugandan government.
A U.S. plan announced Wednesday to set up an Ebola facility in Kenya for Americans was criticized by Kenyan doctors at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and U.S. officials, CDC officials said. The case was also swiftly challenged in court by the Katiba Institute, a civil society group focused on Kenyan constitutional issues.
In an order issued late Thursday, High Court Justice Patricia Nyaundi barred Kenya from establishing or operating Ebola-related facilities under agreements with the United States and other foreign governments, and from allowing anyone exposed to or infected with the virus into the country until legal challenges are resolved. The case is scheduled to return to court on June 2nd.
Trump administration officials had described the proposed facility as “state-of-the-art” and “designed to provide access to high-quality care for Americans who need to quickly escape and isolate from the Democratic Republic of the Congo without risking lengthy transportation to the United States.”
Earlier this month, an American doctor working in the Democratic Republic of Congo tested positive for Ebola and was evacuated to Germany for treatment. At the same time, another high-risk exposed American was transferred to the Czech Republic for treatment.
A senior Trump administration official said the United States has received approval from the Kenyan government for a 50-bed isolation unit, which is expected to be operational on Friday.
The facility will be located at Laikipia Air Base, about 195 miles north of Kenya’s capital Nairobi, and isolation and biocontainment capabilities will be added later, U.S. officials said. Patients who develop symptoms or test positive will be transferred to other facilities, officials said.
A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) told CNN on Thursday night: “As part of a coordinated effort with the Departments of State and the Department of the Army, the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Forces is sending a team of highly trained personnel to Kenya to assist in the care, monitoring, and isolation of Americans departing the Democratic Republic of the Congo.”
“The team includes doctors, nurses, laboratory technicians, mental health professionals and technicians, including personnel with experience working in Liberia’s Ebola response during the 2014-2015 outbreak,” the spokesperson said.
It remains unclear whether the planned facility will also treat patients of other nationalities, and the lack of clarity has fueled anxiety among Kenyans.
The Ebola facility plan comes after the Kenyan and U.S. governments recently renegotiated funding for Kenya’s health efforts as part of the U.S.’s new global health strategy.
The proposal drew opposition from Kenya’s main doctors’ union and the Law Society of Kenya, both of which warned there was a risk of importing Ebola into the country.
“We need full transparency from the Kenyan government as to why it has agreed to accept this proposal,” Dr. Dabji Bimzi Atela, secretary general of the Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union (KMPDU), told CNN.
Atera, who heads a union representing more than 10,000 doctors in public and private hospitals, also questioned the rationale for locating the facility in Kenya, pointing to the strained health system in Kenya.
“Why would the US choose Kenya when the epicenter of the outbreak is Congo (Democratic Republic)?” he said.
“We will not sit idly by while Kenya is treated as a containment colony for a deadly pathogen that we did not produce,” Atela said, adding, “If it is too dangerous for the United States, it is too dangerous for Kenya.”
