Kenyan court blocks U.S.-linked Ebola quarantine plan

A Kenyan court has extended a block on a proposed U.S.-linked Ebola quarantine facility after protests erupted over plans to house Americans exposed to the virus at an air base in central Kenya.

The High Court on Tuesday barred the Kenyan government from taking steps to build or begin operating the facility at Laikipia Air Base while the case proceeds. It also ordered the government to disclose details of the plan, including agreement documents, health and biosafety assessments, regulatory approvals and operational protocols, Al Jazeera reported.

The proposed 50-bed unit, to be managed by U.S. staff, would serve Americans exposed to Ebola who are not showing symptoms, senior U.S. officials have said. The Trump administration has said it “cannot and will not allow” any Ebola cases to enter the United States, a departure from the U.S. response to the 2014 outbreak, when several infected American patients were treated on U.S. soil.

Kenyan President William Ruto defended the proposal, saying it was part of Kenya’s broader emergency preparedness system and a long-running partnership with Washington.

“The quarantine facility being established at Laikipia Air Base with the support of the United States is neither unique nor exceptional, but part of a broader national preparedness system,” Ruto wrote Tuesday on X.

“We are a responsible government. We know what we are doing,” he told reporters, adding that the site would also help Kenya if it faced an Ebola outbreak. “When President Trump asked the government of Kenya to support them, I gave the OK because it was an agreement and a partnership with friends who have worked with Kenya for 30-40 years.”

Ruto said Kenya has prepared isolation, surveillance and treatment facilities in 23 counties, and that the Laikipia facility could serve Kenyans as well as foreign partners, including Americans, if needed. Health Minister Aden Duale said in a statement Saturday that the plan was part of a broader effort to strengthen emergency response systems.

The U.S. has pledged $13.5 million toward its partnership with Kenya, NBC News reported.

Opposition has intensified. Hundreds of people protested Monday in Nanyuki, the central Kenyan town near the planned site. Police used tear gas, news agencies reported. Reuters, citing protest organizer Patrick Wahome and a security source, reported that two people died from gunshot wounds during the unrest. NBC News reported that police and local health officials did not confirm any deaths.

The legal challenge was brought by the Katiba Institute, which argues the plan could endanger public health and lacks transparency. Al Jazeera reported that the Law Society of Kenya and the main doctors’ union also opposed the facility during Tuesday’s hearing.

U.S. health experts and former officials have also raised objections. In an open letter to Congress on Monday, they said the plan to treat exposed Americans abroad raised “profound clinical, ethical, operational, and legal concerns.” The letter said the United States already has a network of biocontainment and infectious disease centers “specifically designed for situations such as this.”

“At a time when outbreak response efforts are already strained, this is a dangerous precedent,” the letter said. Signatories included infectious disease physician Krutika Kuppalli, emergency physicians Debra Houry and Craig Spencer, and epidemiologist Anne Schuchat.

The outbreak is centered in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and has spread to Uganda. The World Health Organization said Tuesday there had been 321 confirmed cases in Congo and 116 suspected cases, with 48 deaths and six recoveries. In Uganda, WHO spokesperson Christian Lindmeier said there had been nine confirmed cases and one associated death; later, Uganda’s Health Ministry confirmed six additional cases, bringing the country’s total to 15.

The outbreak involves the rare Bundibugyo strain of Ebola. The WHO said last week there were more than 200 suspected deaths and 900 suspected cases, but on Tuesday reported a lower suspected case count after hundreds were ruled out through investigation. There is no known vaccine or treatment for the strain.

The White House has said the planned Kenya facility would allow exposed Americans to receive care without the time required for medical evacuation. NBC News reported that the White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the open letter, the Kenyan court ruling or reports of protest deaths.