Seven American aid workers have arrived at a controversial isolation facility in central Kenya after the United States imposed a three-week quarantine requirement for citizens returning from Congo's ongoing Ebola outbreak. The workers, employed by Samaritan's Purse, are the first people to actually use the disputed 50-bed bio-isolation unit built on a Kenyan air force base.
Franklin Graham, president and CEO of Samaritan's Purse, confirmed the quarantine to Reuters. "None of them have any symptoms, but they are being quarantined by the Kenyan government for 21 days," Graham said. The workers arrived at the facility on Monday and are sleeping in army cots in tents, according to a source familiar with the situation.
The group includes staff members from Samaritan's Purse's Disaster Assistance Response Team. Some had worked directly at the Christian aid group's Ebola treatment centers in Congo, while others performed construction or support roles without direct contact with infected patients. One source identified a single potential high-risk exposure among the group. Kenyan authorities are preventing the workers from leaving the facility to travel elsewhere in the country.
A State Department official framed the move as precautionary, saying the asymptomatic Americans had "voluntarily moved to the Kenya facility for monitoring and isolation" with authorization from Kenyan authorities under observation by US public health clinicians. The decision was made "strictly out of an abundance of caution," the official told Reuters.
The facility's opening marks a major flashpoint in Kenya, where it has faced fierce public opposition. Kenyans have protested what they view as the United States transferring health risks to their country. The controversy has become a legal matter, with a Kenyan court ordering construction halted pending a final ruling.
Last month, Kenya's health minister was found in contempt of court after the work continued despite the suspension order. The minister announced an immediate halt to construction, though US officials and satellite imagery reviewed by Reuters showed building continued.
Washington's new policy requires American citizens exposed to Ebola in Congo or Uganda to spend three weeks in a third country before returning to the United States. Samaritan's Purse is one of the largest foreign aid organizations fighting the outbreak in Congo and has more Americans on the ground there than most groups. The organization has received millions of dollars from the Trump administration for the Ebola response and works closely with the World Health Organization on containment efforts.
Earlier this month, one Samaritan's Purse staff member contracted Ebola and was transferred to a hospital in Germany for treatment. The viral disease, which spreads through direct contact with bodily fluids from infected people or animals, has proven fatal in many cases.
Kenyan health ministry and foreign ministry officials declined to comment on the arrival of the American workers at the facility.
Author James Rodriguez: "The Kenya facility was always going to be a political powder keg, but having actual Americans quarantined there now raises the stakes considerably."
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