African Court Orders Trump Administration to Halt Its Ebola Quarantine Plan
A court in Kenya on Friday blocked the local government from allowing the United States to set up a quarantine facility for Americans exposed to Ebola.
The virus is currently spreading throughout northeastern Congo, and there has been backlash against American involvement, with critics claiming the country is trying to curry favor with President Donald Trump in exchange for foreign aid, according to The Hill.
A U.S. official told reporters on Thursday that the White House anticipated a 50-bed field hospital would be open by Friday at Laikipia Air Base in Kenya.
It was reportedly set to be a haven for U.S. citizens who may be infected.
The ruling by the High Court in Nairobi, however, delayed any further debate on the issue until June 2.
The court order comes just one day after Kenyan President William Ruto spoke with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who said the United States would commit $13.5 million toward Kenya’s Ebola containment and readiness efforts, The Hill reported.
Rubio, who also serves as President Donald Trump’s national security adviser, has been adamant about denying anyone with Ebola entry into the U.S. in an effort to prevent an even bigger outbreak.
“The United States’ highest priority remains protecting the health and security of the American people by working to prevent the Ebola outbreak from reaching our shores,” the State Department said in a readout of the call.
As of Tuesday, there were at least 930 suspected Ebola cases and 223 deaths in the Congo. There were also seven cases and one suspected death in Uganda.
World Health Organization officials believe the virus has been spreading for weeks and has gone undetected.
Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the leader of the WHO, said that conflict is disrupting efforts to contain the virus.
The eastern Congo is a “catastrophic collision of disease and conflict,” he said, adding that the WHO “cannot build community trust or isolate the sick while bombs are falling.”
The region has been ruled by the military since 2021.
Ghebreyesus added that “ongoing clashes are driving mass displacement, pushing exposed contacts into overcrowded camps and severing critical containment corridors.”
“Frontline workers are risking everything, while attacks on health facilities make tracking cases and their contacts nearly impossible,” he concluded.
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