The Trump administration is refusing to repatriate Americans exposed to Ebola amid the outbreak still raging in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. But the plan to send US citizens to Kenya has hit a snag, and officials are still scrambling to find other countries that might take them.
Earlier this week, it was revealed that the administration had devised a plan to establish a makeshift quarantine and treatment facility in Kenya—instead of bringing its citizens home for high-quality care at specialized facilities built for this purpose. According to the initial plans, the US facility would be in Laikipia, about 120 miles north of Nairobi, where the US has an air base. Initially, the plan was to set up a 50-bed quarantine facility that was expected to be operational today, May 29. Then, in a second state, officials would set up isolation and biocontainment units to house Americans infected with the virus.
But after a series of events on Thursday and Friday, that plan has now been stalled. The Katiba Institute, which advocates for Kenyans’ constitutional rights, filed the petition on Thursday to challenge the establishment of the quarantine and treatment facility.
“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,” Katiba said in a statement posted on social media.
Katiba is seeking the government’s preparedness plan to prevent or respond to the potential spread of the Ebola virus, which is not present in Kenya. The institute is also seeking disclosure of the terms of any agreement between Kenya and the US regarding the facility. “At its core, the case is about preserving constitutional accountability, protecting public health, and ensuring that no government may place expediency above the lives and safety of the people of Kenya,” Katiba said.
“Appalling” response
Friday morning, a high court in Kenya ordered a halt to the Trump administration’s plans, citing an “imminent threat to life,” until the full case is heard on June 2. Otherwise, Trump officials have said that Americans infected with Ebola needing high-level care would be evacuated to somewhere in Europe, but that they had not determined where in Europe.
In the past, the US has treated 11 Ebola patients in the country, most of whom were repatriated from outbreaks, according to Stat News. No repatriated cases led to secondary transmission within the US. There was a case of a Texas resident who returned from Liberia with the virus. His infection was not immediately detected, and two nurses who cared for him in the US fell ill. Both were treated in the national facilities set up for handling Ebola patients—where the other cases were treated—and both survived.
Daniel Bausch, a physician-scientist who has responded to several Ebola outbreaks in the past, told Stat that the Trump administration’s response has been “appalling,” but not surprising.
“No one is surprised to see the maximum selfishness of US government policy these days. Because it’s just one thing after another. They’ve already withdrawn from WHO … and they’ve already destroyed USAID. … So, no one is really expecting a lot of them right now.”
On Friday, the World Health Organization reported 1,041 cases (135 confirmed, 906 suspected) and 241 deaths (18 confirmed, 223 suspected) in the outbreak.
