NAIROBI, Kenya May 29 – Kenya has approved a United States plan to establish an Ebola quarantine facility at an air force base in Laikipia County for Americans exposed to the ongoing Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo, according to two U.S. officials briefed on the matter.
The officials told Reuters that Kenya granted written authorization allowing the U.S. access to land at the military base in central Kenya where the facility is expected to be set up.
The quarantine centre would reportedly cater primarily to U.S. citizens exposed to the virus and would be staffed by members of the U.S. Public Health Service, a uniformed branch under the Department of Health and Human Services.
Kenyan authorities have not publicly confirmed the arrangement. Officials from the Kenyan ministries of Health and Foreign Affairs had not responded to requests for comment by the time of publication.
However, Kenya’s Ministry of Health on Wednesday acknowledged ongoing discussions with the United States and other international partners regarding cooperation in responding to the Ebola outbreak, though it did not specifically mention the proposed quarantine facility.
According to the U.S. officials, Kenya had pushed for the facility to accommodate individuals of all nationalities exposed to Ebola, and not exclusively Americans. It remained unclear whether the final agreement included that provision.
The development comes as several Americans exposed to the virus have already been evacuated to Europe for treatment and monitoring. One American doctor infected with Ebola was transferred to Germany, alongside several exposed U.S. citizens, while another exposed American doctor was taken to the Czech Republic for observation.
The Ebola outbreak, centred in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, has raised renewed global concern due to the highly infectious nature of the disease and the risk of cross-border transmission.
