A Kenyan High Court has ordered the temporary suspension of plans for the United States to set up an Ebola quarantine facility in the country. The ruling, issued on Friday, came after a rights group filed a petition challenging the proposed facility.
The facility was built by the U.S. military on a Kenyan air base. It was intended to isolate Americans exposed to Ebola during the growing outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The quarantine centre was scheduled to open on Friday before the court issued its ruling.
The High Court issued conservatory orders temporarily barring the establishment or operation of any Ebola-related quarantine, isolation, or treatment facilities in Kenya under the U.S. plan. The court's decision followed a lawsuit that challenged the site's establishment.
Health groups opposed the plan, expressing concerns that it could import the deadly virus into Kenya. The petition challenging the facility was filed by a rights group, according to reports from multiple outlets covering the story.
The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo has been described as growing, prompting international health preparations. The U.S. military constructed the facility as part of efforts to handle potential American exposure cases among U.S. nationals in the region.
According to Reuters reporting from Nairobi on May 29, the court's decision temporarily halts the U.S. government's ability to operate the quarantine centre. The facility was to be located in Kenya, an East African nation.
The court's suspension order represents a temporary measure. The conservatory orders remain in effect pending further legal proceedings. The specific grounds cited by the rights group in its challenge and the timeline for subsequent court hearings were not detailed in the available reports.
The U.S. plan to keep American Ebola patients in Africa rather than transport them to the United States represented a specific approach to handling potential exposure cases among U.S. citizens in the region. The Kenyan court's intervention has paused implementation of this plan.
The temporary nature of the court's order suggests the matter may be subject to further legal review. The status of the facility, which was already constructed by the U.S. military, remains uncertain pending resolution of the legal challenge.
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