Kenyan court blocks opening of U.S. Ebola quarantine center on air base

Nairobi — A Kenyan court on Friday temporarily halted the opening of Ebola quarantine centers for U.S. citizens after a rights group filed a petition. The facility was to open in Kenya on Friday, according to U.S. officialsisolating Americans from the Democratic Republic of Congo, which is battling an Ebola outbreak.

The center has 50 isolation beds and is managed by U.S. medical personnel from Laikipia Air Force Base, about 124 miles from the capital Nairobi.

Trump administration officials said earlier this week that the facility is designed to provide high-quality care to Americans who need quick medical attention. Leaving the Congo and quarantine without the risk of a long trip back to the United States

As of Thursday, the U.S. was not aware of any exposed Americans who would be sent to the center, senior administration officials told CBS News.

Another government official said the government is planning to work with the Kenyan government to build a facility to serve “asymptomatic individuals” who may have been exposed to Ebola.

“A protective order is hereby issued prohibiting the defendants from establishing… any Ebola exposure, quarantine, isolation or treatment facility in Kenya,” the Kenyan court said on Friday.

Kenya has been testing arrivals but has not reported any Ebola cases within its borders.

The East African country signed a health agreement with the United States in December, but the agreement is currently being challenged in court.

The Katiba Institute, the Kenyan human rights group behind the petition, argued the center was set up unilaterally and in secret, saying it “raises serious constitutional issues”.

Meanwhile, the Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union (KMPDU) condemned the move, saying the government was exchanging “the lives of its citizens for foreign aid”.

Kenyan doctors have threatened strike action if talks are not made public.

Kenya’s health ministry has said it is willing to work with other countries, including the United States, but has not yet directly addressed questions about the facility.

The Kenyan government has 48 hours to respond to the petition.