Seven Americans Quarantine at Kenya Ebola Facility After US Restrictions
GENEVA- Seven American aid workers who had been responding to the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo are undergoing a 21-day quarantine at a U.S.-backed isolation facility in Kenya after new U.S. travel restrictions took effect, the head of the humanitarian organization employing them said on Friday.
The group is the first to use the bio-isolation facility, which has become the subject of legal and political controversy in Kenya. The site remains under judicial scrutiny after a Kenyan court ordered activity there suspended pending a final ruling, although U.S. officials and satellite imagery reviewed by Reuters indicate work has continued.
Under a new U.S. policy, American citizens returning from the Democratic Republic of Congo, where an Ebola outbreak is ongoing, must spend three weeks in a third country before entering the United States.
The quarantine facility, built by the U.S. government at an air force base in central Kenya, is intended to house Americans who may have been exposed to Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo or neighboring Uganda.
The project has drawn criticism from many Kenyans, who argue the facility shifts the public health risks associated with Ebola response operations onto Kenya. Last month, Kenya’s health minister announced an immediate halt to construction after being found in contempt of court for failing to comply with judicial orders suspending work on the project.
Franklin Graham, president and chief executive of the Christian humanitarian organization Samaritan’s Purse, said the seven Americans were members of the group’s Disaster Assistance Response Team.
Graham told Reuters that none of the workers had developed symptoms of Ebola but were being quarantined by Kenyan authorities for 21 days as a precaution.
A U.S. State Department official said the asymptomatic Americans had voluntarily entered the Kenya facility after serving on the front lines of the Ebola response. The official said Kenyan authorities had authorized their transfer under the supervision of clinicians from the U.S. Public Health Service and described the move as a precautionary measure.
Kenya’s health ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment, while a senior foreign ministry official said they had no information regarding the matter.
A source familiar with the situation said the group arrived at the facility on Monday and was being housed in tents equipped with military cots.
According to the source, some members of the group had worked as medical personnel treating Ebola patients at Samaritan’s Purse treatment centers, while others had performed support roles, including construction work, without direct contact with infected patients.
The source said there had been one potential high-risk exposure among the group and that all seven individuals were undergoing health monitoring. Kenyan authorities were also restricting them from leaving the facility during the quarantine period.
The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo has prompted heightened international health precautions, with governments and aid organizations seeking to prevent cross-border transmission while maintaining support for response operations.