NAIROBI — A Kenyan court on Friday suspended a Trump administration plan to establish a makeshift field hospitalin Kenya to quarantine Americans exposed to or infected with Ebola.
The court, citing a threat to life, issued its ruling on the day U.S. officials said the facility would begin operating, with capacity for up to 50 patients.
The facility, at Laikipia Air Base, was built by the U.S. military and was to be staffed by officers from the U.S. Public Health Service, was intended to isolate Americans potentially exposed during the growing Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Authorities say suspected Ebola cases have surged past 1,000, with nearly 250 suspected deaths.
The plan for the field hospital, which Kenya had agreed to, was challenged in court by the Katiba Institute, a constitutional rights advocacy group.
In its petition, the group asked the court to stop entry of those exposed to or infected with Ebola and to compel the Ministry of Health to present a contingency plan detailing Kenya’s preparedness for Ebola response, as well as to disclose terms of the agreement.
“At its core, the case is about preserving constitutional accountability, protecting public health, and ensuring that no government may place expediency above the lives and safety of the people of Kenya.” Katiba Institute posted on X.
On Friday, a judge ruled that any person from the Ebola affected regions should not be allowed to enter Kenya and that the quarantine facility should be stopped until the court hears the case on June 2.
The announcement of the U.S. quarantine facility sparked outrage in Kenya.
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