Court halts plan for US Ebola quarantine facility in Kenya

NAIROBI —A Kenyan high court has suspended plans for the United States ‌to set up an Ebola quarantine facility for Americans in the country that has sparked public concern about cross-border infection risks. The 50-bed isolation center is to be staffed by US medics and was due to begin operations on Friday, according to an American official. High Court Judge Patricia Nyaundi said in her orders late on Thursday that Kenya was also not allowed to admit anyone ⁠exposed to or infected by Ebola under the planned agreement with the United States, until a case challenging the deal was heard and determined. The judge also barred the operation of any Ebola facility in Kenya by any foreign government until the case is heard. On Thursday, the White House said the US was setting up a facility in Kenya to quarantine US citizens who had been exposed to Ebola, and would ‌not ⁠bring them home if they develop symptoms, but instead send them to a third country. Kenya rights group Katiba Institute went to court on Thursday to challenge ⁠the plan. In its petition, the rights group warned that the arrangement posed “grave and imminent risks” to public health. “The secretive, unilateral establishment of an Ebola quarantine facility raises grave constitutional concerns regarding the rights to ⁠life, health, fair administrative action, public participation, and parliamentary oversight,” the rights group said. The next hearing ⁠for the case will be on June 2, Nyaundi said in her order. The exact location for the US treatment centre was not disclosed by the American authorities, but lawmakers from Laikipia county, central Kenya, have raised objections after reports emerged that it would be established in their area. MPs called on the government to be clear about the details, saying they saw “no logic” in Kenya or Laikipia hosting the medical facility. The current Ebola outbreak, which is centred in the the east of DR Congo, is suspected to have caused at least 220 deaths and more than 900 infections so far, the Congolese authorities say. There have also been seven cases and one death in Uganda.