Kenyan Court Temporarily Halts U.S. Plan for Ebola Quarantine Unit at Kenyan Air Base

A Kenyan High Court judge issued a temporary order late on Thursday, May 28, 2026, suspending a plan for the United States to establish a 50-bed Ebola quarantine facility at an air force base in central Kenya. Kenyan High Court Judge Patricia Nyaundi barred the government from admitting anyone exposed to or infected by Ebola under the planned agreement until a challenge brought by the Katiba Institute legal advocacy group is resolved.

The next hearing will take place on June 2, Nyaundi said.

U.S. officials said the unit would serve Americans who have been exposed to the virus but are still asymptomatic and was scheduled to become operational on Friday, May 30, 2026. , the officials said.

Kenya’s government provided written approval for the plan on Thursday, May 28, 2026. The plan to bring Americans exposed to the outbreak in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda drew sharp opposition among many Kenyans since it came to light earlier in the week of May 25, 2026.

The Trump administration has said it “cannot and will not allow” any cases of Ebola to enter the United States.

U.S. Public Health Service.

U.S. Officials said. S. 5 million toward Kenya’s Ebola preparedness efforts. Since the outbreak was confirmed in mid-May 2026, there have been more than 1,000 suspected and confirmed Ebola cases, including 246 deaths, according to the World Health Organization.

U.S. citizen who was treating patients in the DRC as a medical missionary was confirmed to have contracted Ebola and was moved to Germany for treatment along with five others who were exposed. A seventh person was taken to the Czech Republic.

U.S. government were released within 48 hours.