The U.S. government is establishing a quarantine facility in Kenya to receive American citizens assessed as high-risk contacts of the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, senior administration officials said on Thursday. The officials emphasized that individuals who develop symptoms will not be transported to the United States.
Officials said the Kenyan site is intended for U.S. citizens who have had exposure to the virus but remain asymptomatic. It will also be capable of providing more advanced care and support for those who develop symptoms while at the facility, until arrangements are made to evacuate them to third countries, the officials told reporters.
The decision to move symptomatic patients to third countries rather than to the United States was explained by officials as a choice made for speed and to reduce risks to the American public at home. They denied the policy was politically motivated.
The World Health Organization this month declared the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola an emergency of international concern. The strain cited by officials has no approved vaccine or treatment, the administration said. According to the figures officials provided, more than 900 suspected cases and more than 200 suspected deaths have been reported so far.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio had said on Wednesday, "we cannot and will not allow any cases of Ebola to enter the United States." Last week, the U.S. imposed entry restrictions on travelers who have been in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, or South Sudan in the previous 21 days. The restrictions apply to all travelers, including lawful permanent residents - known as green card holders.
The Kenyan government has approved the facility, which officials said will become operational on Friday with an initial 50-bed unit. Plans for expansion include two biocontainment units, each capable of holding two patients, and three isolation units, each designed for four patients.
This arrangement signals a policy of managing exposed Americans abroad rather than repatriating symptomatic cases, with authorities citing logistical and public health considerations in their decision-making.