The US has said it remains confident concerns surrounding a proposed Ebola isolation facility could be resolved after Kenya’s High Court temporarily suspended the project.
Hundreds of youths in Kenya’s central town of Nanyuki demonstrated against the establishment at the Laikipia Air Base of an Ebola quarantine centre for American citizens exposed to the virus.
The protests, on Monday, come two days after Kenya’s High Court suspended the establishment of the facility and the arrival of any foreign patients pending the hearing of a case filed by the Law Society of Kenya and a constitutional watchdog, Katiba Institute.
On Monday, hundreds of youths marched to the gates of the air base, chanting anti-Ebola slogans.
The two organisations leading the protests in court cited Kenya’s fragile health system as the reason why foreign Ebola patients should not be quarantined in the country.
Controversial arrangement
However, Health Minister Aden Duale on Sunday said the quarantine centre was for “everyone” and not exclusively for US nationals.
The US, on May 30, said it is engaging Kenyan authorities and remains confident that concerns surrounding a proposed Ebola isolation facility could be resolved after Kenya’s High Court temporarily suspended the project on Thursday.
“We are aware of the court action filed in Kenya against the Ebola isolation facility. We are in touch with Kenyan authorities and are optimistic we can resolve objections,” said a statement from the Office of Jeremy P. Lewin, the US undersecretary for foreign assistance, humanitarian affairs, and religious freedom.
The US government intends to commit $13.5 million toward Kenya’s Ebola preparedness efforts, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement.
US officials said on Thursday that the United States was planning to send Americans exposed to Ebola while abroad to a new facility in Kenya instead of flying them home.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the administration’s plans. They said the facility would be at Laikipia Air Base and would be operational with 50 quarantine beds.
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