Kenyan court blocks opening of US Ebola quarantine facility

(AFP) A Kenyan court on Friday temporarily suspended Friday the opening of a quarantine center for U.S. citizens affected by Ebola, following a petition filed by a human rights group.

According to U.S. officials cited by the agency, the facility was to open Friday in the East African country to quarantine Americans arriving from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which is battling a major outbreak of Ebola.

Washington has defended its criticized decision not to repatriate Americans infected with the virus.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio has vowed not to allow any Ebola cases on U.S. soil.

What would the facilities look like?

The facilities, built by the United States, were to have 50 isolation beds and would be run by U.S. medical personnel at Laikipia air base, about 124 miles from the capital, Nairobi.

A U.S. official confirmed Thursday the creation of the quarantine center, but the Kenyan government has not responded directly to questions about the facility.

Subsequently, the center would be staffed with additional personnel, as well as "three isolation units, each capable of holding four patients," and "two biocontainment units, each capable of holding two patients," the official said, without providing a timeline.

If these patients develop symptoms or test positive, they will be treated in the units "until they are transferred" to specialized centers in Europe, the official said.

The Katiba Institute, a Kenyan human rights advocacy group, filed a court case against the plans for the quarantine center, claiming it was being set up unilaterally and secretly, after which an interim injunction halting the process was issued on Friday, according to AFP.

The petition also prohibits the entry of people exposed to Ebola.

The Kenyan government has 48 hours to respond to the petition, whose hearing date is set for June 2.

The U.S. official defended the quarantine center, saying the goal was to shorten patient travel and dismissed any political motivation.

What Rubio said

Rubio spoke by phone Thursday with Kenyan President William Ruto, his spokesman said, adding that Washington plans to provide $13.5 million in aid to fund Kenya's efforts to prepare for Ebola.

A second U.S. official said Kenyan authorities have given their "advance approval" for the project to Washington, which has held discussions with Ruto "about establishing this facility."

Health agreement

Nairobi and Washington signed a health agreement in December under which the U.S. provides financial support for multiple programs, including "infectious disease outbreak response and preparedness."

But the agreement is currently being challenged in court.

Kenyan doctors have also criticized the quarantine center, claiming the government was trading "the lives of its citizens for foreign aid" and threatening a strike.

"If it's too dangerous for the United States, it's too dangerous for Kenya," the Kenyan doctors' union said, AFP quoted the AFP as saying.

Kenya has been testing travelers arriving in the country and has not yet reported any cases of Ebola on its territory in the wake of the current outbreak.