Kenyan court blocks US Ebola quarantine facility after deadly protests
A Kenyan court has temporarily blocked a United States plan to set up a facility to quarantine Americans exposed to Ebola, after the project sparked deadly protests.
The US administration had been preparing a field hospital on a Kenyan military base to isolate and treat Americans exposed to or infected with Ebola during the escalating outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Officials said the aim was to give Americans faster access to care and avoid lengthy medical evacuation flights that can take more than 12 hours.
The plan met fierce opposition. A Kenyan court suspended it, citing a threat to life, in a ruling issued on the day US officials said the facility would begin operating.
The project also triggered street protests in the town of Nanyuki, near where the centre was being built. The demonstrations turned violent, and at least two people were killed and another injured.
The episode highlighted tensions over the international response to the Ebola outbreak, which the World Health Organization has declared a public health emergency. It also raised questions about foreign military facilities on Kenyan soil and the consent of local communities affected by them.
