U.S. Aid Workers Begin Quarantine at Kenya Ebola Facility Built Despite Court Order

-backed Ebola isolation facility at Laikipia Air Base near Nanyuki, Kenya, the organization said. The workers belong to a 72-member Disaster Assistance Response Team that Samaritan’s Purse deployed to the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The team includes 44 Americans and members from nine other countries.

None of the seven quarantined employees have developed symptoms, the organization said. Franklin Graham, president and CEO of Samaritan’s Purse, said the workers are housed in large military tents in a fenced gravel area, sleep on military cots, and receive food provided by the U.S. military.

He spoke to the workers by phone on Thursday morning. "We are grateful to God for the incredible men and women who have been fighting Ebola on the front lines. To me, these are true American heroes and they do it because of their love for Jesus Christ, showing His compassion to people who are going through their darkest hour.

We want to honor them and care for them well," Graham said. The facility was built to quarantine Americans exposed to Ebola in the DRC or Uganda for the standard 21-day monitoring period before they return to the United States. Kenya’s High Court had ordered construction to stop, and Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale was found in contempt after work continued.

Duale later announced an immediate halt to all activity at the site. Despite the orders, the facility was completed, and the seven workers are believed to be its first occupants. As of Thursday, the Democratic Republic of Congo had reported 2,124 confirmed Ebola cases and 828 deaths.

Earlier this week, the U.S. announced that American travelers in the DRC will no longer be able to fly directly to the United States; they must wait 21 days after leaving the DRC before returning.