Trump Orders U.S. Military to Set Up Ebola Quarantine Facilities in Kenya Within One Week

The United States Military is set to establish a quarantine facility in central Kenya within a week to house Americans exposed to Ebola, as the deadly virus continues spreading rapidly across the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda.

This was after news came in that the Trump administration is planning to send Americans exposed to Ebola to the quarantine facility in Kenya.

Discrete sources say that the plan will incorporate a field hospital that will have a 50-bed unit ready within a week, with the potential to expand to 250 beds at a later stage, with US personnel expected to receive prefabricated medical facilities easily transported by truck and airplane.

The facility is being set up through a coordinated effort involving the U.S. departments of State, Health and Human Services, and Defense, according to the Washington Post. 

An administration official explained that Kenya’s location is more preferable when it comes to flying U.S. patients home from the DRC.

“The facility is designed to provide access to high-quality care for Americans who would need to quickly get out of DRC and quarantine without the risks of a lengthy transport back to the U.S.,” stated the official.

Several cases involving Americans exposed to the virus have been recorded, including an American doctor treated in Germany, while six others have been transferred to Germany and the Czech Republic for monitoring.

Additionally, one American has been confirmed infected with Ebola in the DRC, and at least six other Americans exposed to the virus have been evacuated from the region, though it is unclear if any additional U.S. citizens have tested positive at this time.  

The directive comes as U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated on Wednesday, May 27, that no individual infected with Ebola, including American citizens, would be allowed entry into the country, while the United States simultaneously steps up screening measures at all entry points.

Reports indicate that members of the U.S. Public Health Service have already begun training at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland ahead of deployment to staff the Kenya facility.

Even so, military officials in the U.S. are reportedly concerned that the training period, which lasted only three days, is not sufficient.

To affirm Kenya’s preparedness to tackle the Ebola Virus spread, Health Cabinet Secretary Adan Duale pointed out on May 27 that Kenya has activated its national Incident Management System (IMS), intensified surveillance at Points of Entry, designated laboratories for testing, and strengthened coordination mechanisms at national and county levels.