The Trump administration is refusing to repatriate Americans exposed to the Ebola virus amid an ongoing outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo. But a plan to send US citizens to Kenya has failed, and officials are still scrambling to find other countries that can take them.
Earlier this week, it was revealed that instead of bringing its citizens home for high-quality care, the administration had developed a plan to set up a temporary quarantine and treatment facility in Kenya. special devices built for this purpose. The US facility is initially planned to be in Laikipia, about 120 miles north of Nairobi, where the US has an air base. Initially, the plan was to create a 50-bed quarantine facility, which is expected to open today, May 29. Then, in a second state, officials will set up isolation and biosecurity units to house Americans infected with the virus.
But after a series of events on Thursday and Friday, that plan has now been shelved. The Katiba Institute, which advocates for the constitutional rights of Kenyans, filed a petition on Thursday to challenge the establishment of the quarantine and treatment facility.
“The secretive, unilateral establishment of an Ebola quarantine facility raises serious constitutional concerns about the rights to life, health, fair administrative action, public participation, and parliamentary oversight.” Kitiba said in a statement published on the social network.
The secretary is looking for a government preparedness plan to prevent or respond to a potential outbreak of Ebola, which Kenya does not have. The institute is also seeking to disclose the terms of any agreement between Kenya and the United States regarding the facility. “It is about protecting constitutional accountability, protecting public health and ensuring that no government puts expediency before the lives and safety of the Kenyan people,” the Secretary said.
