NAIROBI — Hundreds of young residents in Kenya’s central town of Nanyuki staged a protest on Monday against the proposed establishment of an Ebola quarantine and isolation facility for US citizens exposed to the virus at Laikipia Air Base, amid growing debate over the country’s readiness to manage cross-border spread of the disease. The demonstrators initially marched toward the perimeter of Laikipia Airbase but were blocked by heavily armed Kenya Air Force personnel, who denied them access to the military installation. Security forces established a cordon around the facility, forcing the crowd to retreat and redirect their procession toward Nanyuki town. According to a security advisory, the protesters later moved into the Nanyuki Central Business District, where police escorted protesters along designated routes. The protests come two days after Kenya’s High Court suspended the establishment of the facility and the arrival of any foreign patients pending the hearing of a case filed by the Law Society of Kenya and a constitutional watchdog. The two organizations cited Kenya’s fragile health system as the reason why foreign Ebola patients should not be quarantined in the country. US officials said Thursday that the United States was planning to send Americans exposed to Ebola while abroad to a new facility in Kenya instead of flying them home. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the administration’s plans. They said the facility would be at Laikipia Air Base and would be operational with 50 quarantine beds by Friday. On Monday, hundreds of youths marched to the gates of the air base, chanting anti-Ebola slogans. Health Minister Aden Duale on Sunday said the quarantine center was for “everyone” and not exclusively for US nationals. The US government intends to commit $13.5 million toward Kenya’s Ebola preparedness efforts, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement. Local leaders, including Laikipia Governor Joshua Irungu, had told journalists that they were opposed to the establishment of an Ebola quarantine center. “This will expose our people to Ebola,” he said, adding that many locals work inside the air base and could be exposed. Kenya has not recorded Ebola cases, but neighboring Uganda has reported nine and closed its border with Congo. At least 282 confirmed cases have been reported in Congo with over 1,000 suspected cases of the Bundibugyo virus, the current species of Ebola, which has no approved treatment or vaccine.
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