Kenyan Court Suspends U.S. Ebola Quarantine Facility at Laikipia Air Base Amid Protests and Safety Concerns

U.S. Ebola quarantine facility on Laikipia Air Base for at least three weeks. The High Court of Nairobi issued the order after civil society groups challenged the project over public health risks and lack of public consultation.

Hundreds of demonstrators gathered in Nanyuki town on Monday and Tuesday outside the planned site. At least two people were killed and one was injured when the protest turned violent on Monday.

U.S. Citizens who contract Ebola abroad rather than returning them to the United States. U.S. officials confirmed the centre would be located at the Kenyan military base and would begin operations with 50 beds.

The World Health Organization declared an international public health emergency on May 17 after the rare Bundibugyo strain of Ebola was detected in the Democratic Republic of Congo. At least 321 people are infected and 48 have died in the DRC. Nine cases and one death have been confirmed in neighbouring Uganda.

Kenya has never recorded a case of the disease. S. “cannot and will not allow any cases of Ebola to enter” the country.

5 million toward Kenya’s Ebola preparedness efforts and another $112 million to the regional response. President William Ruto said he approved the centre after President Trump requested Kenyan support. “When President Trump asked the government of Kenya to support them by having a centre at Laikipia Air Base, I gave the okay,” Ruto told reporters.

Health Minister Aden Bare Duale wrote that the facility would be open to both Americans and Kenyans and would be one of 23 centres established in high-risk counties. U.S. under bilateral agreements signed after Washington reduced foreign health aid last year.

U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps arrived in Kenya last week after three weeks of training. U.S. doctor who contracted Ebola in the DRC was flown to Germany for treatment two weeks ago.

Katiba Institute and the Kenya Law Society filed separate challenges at the High Court of Nairobi last week. The court first suspended the project on Friday and extended the order on Tuesday.

U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advised officials against the plan, according to CNN reporting cited by Al Jazeera. Some CDC staff expressed concern that the facility would complicate recruitment for Ebola response work.