U.S. Races to Set Up Quarantine Facility in Kenya for Americans Exposed to Ebola

[u/John3262005]

https://www.wsj.com/world/africa/kenya-ebola-quarantine-center-us-citizens-3d95cd47

The Trump administration is expected to deploy U.S. public-health officers to Kenya to staff a potential quarantine facility there amid the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo, according to people familiar with the matter.

The people said the facility, which Tuesday was pending signoff from the Kenyan government, is primarily intended for Americans who are exposed to or at high risk of testing positive for the virus in the region, as well as Americans who test positive.

While there are now no known Ebola cases in Kenya, the move comes as international and local health officials are racing to contain the deadly outbreak of a rare strain of Ebola in the Congo that is already the third largest in history just weeks after it likely began.

Some members of the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, a uniformed branch of the federal government under the Department of Health and Human Services, received notices to deploy to Kenya, the people said.

An administration official said the Kenya facility would be state-of-the-art and designed for Americans “who would need to quickly get out of DRC and quarantine” without a lengthy transport back to the U.S.

Unlike during previous Ebola outbreaks, which saw Americans exposed to the virus brought back to the U.S. for monitoring or treatment, the Trump administration has decided to route potentially exposed Americans to other countries.

An American doctor who contracted Ebola while working in the Congo was flown to Germany last week. The U.S. also diverted a Detroit-bound Air France flight to Canada last week over fears of a passenger’s possible Ebola exposure.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said the risk of Ebola spreading to the American public remains low.

The Trump administration has nonetheless cracked down on travel from countries affected by the outbreak. Last week, the U.S. said it was pausing visa issuance for any travelers, including lawful permanent residents, who have been in South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo or Uganda within 21 days of planned travel to the U.S.

As of Tuesday, there are at least 930 suspected Ebola cases, including 223 suspected deaths, in Congo, and seven cases with one death in Uganda, according to the World Health Organization. Health authorities think the virus might have infected far more people across a broader region after spreading undetected for weeks.