The Trump administration wants to send U.S. citizens living abroad who are exposed to the deadly Ebola virus to Kenya rather than bring them home, according to new reporting by the New York Times.
Three people familiar with the Trump administration’s plans spoke with the NYT, which noted that previous administrations brought Americans home for observation and treatment.
The outbreak of Ebola is in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The World Health Organization declared it a public health emergency. More than 1,000 cases of Ebola and 200 deaths have been reported during the past 11 days, which makes it the third largest outbreak on record, according to the NYT.
Trump administration insiders told the NYT that the original plan was to send Ebola-exposed Americans to Kenya for monitoring and then to Europe for treatment if they show symptoms.
“But the administration now plans to provide treatment in Kenya as well,” insiders told the NYT. Trump officials are already setting up a facility in Kenya where Americans can be quarantined and treated for Ebola, the NYT added.
“Last week, the Trump administration invoked a public health law known as Title 42 to bar immigrants and legal permanent residents who have been in Congo, Uganda, or South Sudan in the previous 21 days from entering the United States,” the NYT reported.
“The administration’s new plan would also keep U.S. citizens who might have been exposed to Ebola out of the country,” two people familiar with the administration’s plans told the NYT. “A few dozen Public Health Service officers are now being trained to deploy to Kenya to provide medical care to Americans who are deemed at high risk of developing Ebola.”
So far, only a few Americans have been infected, including an American doctor in Germany and six other Americans who were transported to Germany and the Czech Republic for monitoring, according to the NYT.
“Government scientists and physicians who develop symptoms will also be treated in Kenya,” the NYT added.
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