Workers load emergency supplies headed for Congo to combat the Ebola outbreak onto a UN plane in Nairobi, May 20.Andrew Kasuku/The Associated Press
The Trump administration says it is setting up a quarantine site in Kenya for Americans who have been exposed to Ebola, sparking an uproar from many Kenyans, who accuse the United States of using their country as a dumping ground.
The plan was confirmed Wednesday by a Trump administration official speaking to journalists on background. But in a sign of its political sensitivity, the Kenyan government declined to comment on the U.S. announcement, saying only that negotiations were under way.
In a rapidly spreading epidemic, more than 1,270 suspected or confirmed cases of the Bundibugyo Ebola strain have been reported in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, along with 263 suspected or confirmed deaths. A further seven cases have been confirmed in neighbouring Uganda.
Washington has already imposed an entry ban on non-American travellers who have visited Congo, Uganda or South Sudan in the past 21 days. Two American physicians with Ebola exposure were recently sent from Congo to Europe for treatment or isolation rather than back home to the U.S.
“We cannot and will not allow any cases of Ebola to enter the United States," Secretary of State Marco Rubio told U.S. President Donald Trump at a cabinet meeting Wednesday. The goal, he said, is to “contain this crisis to the countries where it’s currently located.”
Some Nairobi residents have raised concerns over a proposed U.S. plan to establish a quarantine facility in Kenya for American citizens exposed to Ebola, saying it should also be accessible to locals.
Reuters
The U.S. plan for a Kenyan quarantine centre is a sharp break from previous Ebola outbreaks, when Americans were permitted to return home for isolation and treatment if they had been exposed to the virus. This time the isolation and treatment would be in Kenya, triggering harsh criticism from people in the East African country.
“Bringing Americans who are exposed to Ebola to Kenya for whatever reason is an act of high treason,” said Miguna Miguna, a prominent Kenyan lawyer and politician, in a social media post.
“If the Ebola-exposed people are not safe for the USA, they are not safe for Kenyans,” he added.
The Kenyan Health Ministry issued a vague statement, referring only to “ongoing discussions” with the U.S. government. But a White House official, quoted by several media outlets, said the quarantine facility would provide “high-quality care for Americans” if they need to leave Congo quickly because of Ebola exposure. The 50-bed centre is reportedly to be set up within the next week.
A health worker, decontaminates the clothing of a motorcycle taxi driver who transported a patient suspected of having Ebola to the Rwampara Hospital in Ituri, in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, May 26.GLODY MURHABAZI/AFP/Getty Images
David Maraga, a former Kenyan chief justice, said he was alarmed by the U.S. plan and the lack of clear details from the Kenyan government. “No partnership should compromise our sovereignty or place the Kenyan public at undue risk,” he said in a statement.
There was a furor in online debates, with many Kenyans alleging that African countries were being pressured to accept health risks that powerful countries were unwilling to take.
U.S. health experts also questioned the plan. “Policies like this will only discourage desperately needed clinicians and responders from deploying to outbreak zones in the future,” said Krutika Kuppalli, a U.S. infectious disease physician who travelled to West Africa in 2014 to work on the biggest Ebola outbreak ever recorded.
Ottawa announced Tuesday that it will temporarily ban travel to Canada by residents of Congo, Uganda and South Sudan. Canadian citizens who do not have any Ebola symptoms will be required to quarantine for 21 days.
Jason Nickerson, a public health professor at the University of Toronto, said the new Canadian quarantine rule will be a barrier for health workers and experts who want to help in the battle against Ebola.
Prof. Nickerson said a humanitarian agency had asked him to go to Congo next week but he declined because of the quarantine rule. “I was already on the fence for family reasons, but this tipped the scale for me,” he said. “Adding three weeks of quarantine to a short deployment in a high-intensity environment is a deal breaker for me.”