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A Kenyan High Court judge on Friday temporarily blocked a Trump administration attempt to set up an Ebola quarantine facility on an air base in the East African country. White House officials said earlier this week<\/a><\/span> that a 50-bed facility would be operational from Friday for American citizens exposed to or infected by the virus.<\/p>\n The non-profit Katiba Institute, whose mission is to defend Kenya’s constitution, filed the restraining application<\/a> Thursday, citing a lack of transparency and public participation and arguing that “constitutional recklessness” had implications for “grave public health.”\u00a0<\/p>\n The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has identified six known strains of Ebola, four of which cause significant illness in humans. The most lethal Zaire strain has a mortality rate of up to 90%, according to the World Health Organization, while the Bundibugyo strain \u2014 behind an ongoing outbreak centered in the Democratic Republic of Congo \u2014 has a mortality rate between 30-50%.\u00a0<\/p>\n <\/span> A man hangs an Ebola awareness banner in the Kigonze camp in Bunia, in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, May 28, 2026.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Glody MURHABAZI\/AFP\/Getty<\/p>\n <\/span> Trump administration officials said the facility on the Laikipia Air Base, about 124 miles from Kenya’s capital Nairobi, was being designed to provide access to high-quality care for Americans who need to quickly get out of Congo<\/a><\/span> and quarantine without the risks of a lengthy trip back to the U.S.<\/p>\n Another administration official said the government was planning for a facility that would serve “asymptomatic individuals” who may have been exposed to Ebola, in cooperation with the Kenyan government.<\/p>\n As of Thursday, the U.S. was not aware of any exposed Americans who were to be transported to the center, senior administration officials told CBS News.<\/p>\n The Kenyan court said Friday that “a conservatory order is hereby issued restraining the respondents from establishing … any Ebola exposure, quarantine, isolation or treatment facility in Kenya.”<\/p>\n Another organization, the Law Society of Kenya, has also filed a constitutional petition against the proposed Ebola quarantine center, but there was no immediate ruling on that Friday.<\/p>\n “Kenya appears to have been selected as an alternative containment site, thereby externalizing infectious disease risk management to the Republic’s territory,” Katiba said in its legal challenge. \u00a0<\/p>\n The Kenyan government has 48 hours to respond to the petition.<\/p>\n Kenya’s health ministry has said it’s open to working with other governments, including the United States, but has not spoken in any detail about the proposed U.S. quarantine facility.<\/p>\n
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