Donald Trump’s plans to set up an Ebola quarantine facility on a Kenyan air base hit a major roadblock on Friday.
A Kenyan court temporarily suspended plans to establish a U.S.-built Ebola quarantine and treatment facility at Laikipia Air Base, about 120 miles north of Nairobi, on the same day Trump administration officials said it was due to begin operations.
The ruling deals a significant blow to the administration’s response to the worsening Ebola outbreak, centered in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where suspected cases have surpassed 1,000 and nearly 250 suspected deaths have been reported.
The White House confirmed earlier this week that the U.S. intended to establish a facility in Kenya to receive Americans exposed to the virus. Administration officials described the site as a “state-of-the-art facility” created “through a coordinated effort with the Departments of State, Health and Human Services, and War,” ABC News reported.
According to administration officials, the facility was designed to “provide access to high-quality care for Americans who would need to quickly get out” of the region and reduce the “risks of a lengthy transport back to the U.S.”
“Time is of the essence for Ebola patients, and this facility will enable Americans in the region who contract Ebola to receive lifesaving care as quickly as possible without 12-plus hours of medevac flight time,” an administration official said.
The makeshift field hospital, built by the U.S. military, formed a key pillar of the administration’s strategy for managing Americans exposed to Ebola overseas. The facility was intended primarily to quarantine Americans exposed to Ebola, while more serious cases could potentially be transferred to advanced medical facilities in Europe.
A person familiar with the U.S. response told The Washington Post that the administration did not have a ready backup plan if Americans exposed to Ebola required evacuation in the coming days.
The legal challenge to the facility was brought by the Katiba Institute, a Kenyan constitutional-rights advocacy group, which argued the plan posed an “imminent threat to life.”
“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,” the group wrote on X.
A judge on Friday ruled that individuals from the Ebola-affected regions should not be permitted to enter Kenya pending further hearings, and that the makeshift facility must halt operations until the next court hearing, which is scheduled for June 2.
The court order said: “A conservatory order is thereby issued restraining the respondents from establishing, operationalizing, facilitating, approving or permitting the establishment and/or operation of any Ebola exposure, quarantine, isolation or treatment facility in Kenya pursuant to any arrangement with the United States of America or any foreign government or agency pending the inter-parties hearing of this application.”
The Daily Beast has contacted the White House for comment.
