Kenyan court temporarily blocks US Ebola quarantine facility plan
The next hearing for the case is currently scheduled to take place on June 2.
A high court in Kenya has temporarily suspended U.S. plans to set up an Ebola quarantine facility in the country, according to court documents.
Judge Patricia Nyaundi said anyone who has been exposed to or infected by Ebola would not be allowed into the country.
The White House confirmed Wednesday that the U.S. had been planning on setting up a health facility in Kenya to receive Americans who are exposed to the Ebola virus in regions affected by the outgoing outbreak, which centered in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
According to an administration official, the U.S. planned to establish a "state-of-the-art facility" in Kenya "through a coordinated effort with the Departments of State, Health and Human Services, and War."
The official said the purpose and design of the facility would be to "provide access to high-quality care for Americans who would need to quickly get out" of the DRC to quarantine, and argued that it would cut down on 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," the official said.
The official added that the treatment capabilities at the Kenya facility are "expected to be able to care for the full-spectrum of Ebola Virus Disease, including critical care needs," but added that patients would be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.
Kenya's Katiba Institute, an organization formed to support the country's constitution, is challenging the U.S. plan, alleging an "imminent threat to life" in Kenya, according to the court filing.
Nora Mbagathi, executive director of the Katiba Institute, told ABC News that the court challenge is not about opposing Ebola preparedness or international cooperation, but about transparency and following Kenya's constitutional procedures.
She said the institute has not seen impact assessments, safeguarding plans or evidence of parliamentary involvement in the reported arrangement.
"If this is really in the best interest of Kenyans, then it should go ahead," Mbagathi said, adding that Kenyans deserve to know the terms of the agreement before it proceeds.
She said most of the information about the proposal has come from U.S. sources rather than the Kenyan government.
Mbagathi said the group is not seeking to permanently block the plan but rather pause it until the relevant documents are disclosed and properly examined.
The next hearing for the case is scheduled for June 2, according to court documents.
There are no new known high-risk exposures of Americans, officials said Friday.
One American doctor is symptom-free under quarantine in Prague and a doctor with Ebola is being monitored in Germany, along with his five family members.
The World Heath Organization said Friday that there are 906 suspected cases and 223 suspected deaths in the DRC.
As of Thursday, 134 cases had been confirmed -- including nine in Uganda -- as have 18 deaths.
The WHO said cases in the DRC are still concentrated in three northeastern provinces, with "challenges in contact tracing and follow-up, insecurity, inadequate isolation, care and referral systems for patients complicating response efforts."
The organization said national authorities are collaborating with the WHO and other partners in deploying rapid response teams, delivering medical supplies, setting up safe treatment centers and other response measures.
Additionally, Dr. Satish Pillai, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's incident manager for Ebola response, told reporters on a Friday call that there are 236 CDC staffers who are currently working on the Ebola response both domestically and abroad.
Of those, 54 staffers are stationed at screening checkpoints, including at four airports in Georgia, New York, Texas and Virginia, to monitor Americans coming into the country from the outbreak region.
The CDC deferred any questions about plans for a possible quarantine facility in Kenya and potential movement of exposed Americans to the State Department.
"As with many Ebola outbreaks, the number of reported cases may not fully reflect the extent of transmission, and we do expect the response will require sustained international coordination," Pillai said.
"CDC priorities are straightforward, helping stop transmission at its source, supporting affected countries and neighboring nations, and ensuring readiness here in the United States," he added.