By Humphrey Malalo
NAIROBI, June 2 (Reuters) – A Kenyan court blocked on Tuesday for another three weeks a proposed U.S. Ebola quarantine facility that has triggered protests in which two people were killed, and ordered the government to disclose its agreement with Washington.
The proposed 50-bed unit on an air force base in central Kenya for Americans exposed to the virus in Democratic Republic of Congo or Uganda has angered many Kenyans. They accuse the U.S. of offloading the health risk of caring for patients.
A Kenyan court last week temporarily suspended the plan in response to a lawsuit from a legal advocacy group. However, U.S. military aircraft have continued to fly in staff and equipment in recent days, according to a U.S. official and diplomatic sources.
Kenyan High Court Judge Patricia Nyaundi on Tuesday issued an order barring the Kenyan government from taking any steps to build or begin operations at the facility in the town of Nanyuki before the case is resolved.
The judge also ordered the government to disclose all agreements and operational protocols related to the facility within seven days and scheduled the next hearing for June 23.
Senior U.S. health official Mehmet Oz told reporters in a White House briefing on Tuesday that President Donald Trump’s administration is confident the State Department will be able to work with Kenya to establish the facility.
“I think we’re going to work out … a very favourable arrangement with Kenya,” Oz said. “They’re going to do the right thing for everybody, and I think it’s a perfect solution.”
Hundreds protested against the plan in Nanyuki on Monday. Protest organiser Patrick Wahome said two people were killed by gunshot wounds after police opened fire. A security source also said two people had died but did not specify the cause of death.
Police spokesperson Michael Muchiri said he was not aware of the deaths.
KENYAN PRESIDENT RUTO DEFENDS US AGREEMENT
On Monday, Kenyan President William Ruto said the facility was part of a wider national preparedness plan and long-running health partnership with Washington.
The U.S. said last week it would provide $13.5 million for Kenya’s Ebola preparedness effort. Ruto said the site would serve Kenyans and foreign nationals too.
“We are a responsible government. We know what we are doing,” Ruto said.
A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters the facility would only be treating U.S. citizens.
“American officials, doctors, and clinicians will be at this facility, treating American citizens at the facility. Our highest priority is containing the spread of Ebola and offering the highest clinical care to Americans,” the official said.
Kenyan courts are known for their independence, especially by regional standards, although activists often accuse the government of ignoring or circumventing orders.
The outbreak of the rare Bundibugyo strain of Ebola is centred in eastern Congo and several cases have spilled over into neighbouring Uganda.
There have been 321 confirmed cases and 116 suspected cases of Ebola in Congo, including 48 deaths, the World Health Organization said on Tuesday. Uganda has confirmed 15 cases.
The Trump administration has said it “cannot and will not allow” any cases to enter the U.S., unlike during the 2014-2016 Ebola outbreak in West Africa when several infected U.S. nationals were treated on U.S. soil.
A U.S. citizen who contracted Ebola while treating patients in the DRC as a medical missionary was moved to Germany last month for treatment along with five others who were exposed.
A seventh person was taken to the Czech Republic.
The facility in Nanyuki is meant to receive Americans who have been exposed to the virus but are still asymptomatic. Patients who develop symptoms would be sent for care in other countries, U.S. officials have said.
(Reporting by Humphrey Malalo, Edwin Okoth, Aaron Ross and Ammu Kannampilly; Additional reporting by Steve Holland and Ahmed Aboulenein in Washington; Writing by Vincent Mumo Nzilani and Aaron Ross; Editing by Kate Mayberry, Andrew Cawthorne and Gareth Jones)
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