7 Americans at US-backed Ebola isolation facility in Kenya, charity group says
Seven American aid workers from the Samaritan’s Purse charity are being quarantined at a controversial U.S.-backed Ebola isolation facility in Kenya, the organization said.
The workers are part of the organization’s 72-member Disaster Assistance Response Team deployed to the Ebola outbreak in Democratic Republic of Congo, the organization said in a statement to ABC News. The team includes 44 Americans, with the remaining members coming from nine other countries.
None of the seven quarantined employees have developed symptoms, the organization said.
Franklin Graham, president and CEO of Samaritan’s Purse, confirmed the workers are being held for the standard 21-day isolation period.
In a statement, Graham said the workers are housed in large military tents in a fenced gravel area, sleep on military cots and receive food provided by the U.S. military. He added that he spoke to them by phone on Thursday morning.
“We are grateful to God for the incredible men and women who have been fighting Ebola on the front lines. To me, these are true American heroes and they do it because of their love for Jesus Christ, showing His compassion to people who are going through their darkest hour. We want to honor them and care for them well,” Graham said.
The Ebola quarantine facility — located at the Laikipia Air Base near Nanyuki, Kenya — was built to quarantine Americans exposed to Ebola in the DRC or Uganda for the standard 21-day monitoring period before they return to the U.S.
The project has faced strong opposition in Kenya. Critics argue that the U.S. is shifting the responsibility and potential health risks to Kenya, a country with no recorded Ebola cases. Civil society groups have questioned the lack of public consultation and proper approvals.
Kenya’s High Court previously ordered construction to stop. Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale was found in contempt after work continued, and he later announced an immediate halt to all activity at the site.
Despite the court orders, the facility was completed, and the seven Samaritan’s Purse workers are believed to be its first occupants.
ABC News has reached out to the Kenyan health minister and other Kenyan officials but did not immediately hear back.
The WHO has warned that the Ebola outbreak is spreading more quickly than any previous Ebola outbreak in the DRC. As of Thursday, the country had reported 2,124 confirmed cases and 828 deaths.
Earlier this week, the U.S. announced that American travelers in the DRC will no longer be able to fly directly to the U.S. Under a new process outlined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Department of Homeland Security , Americans departing from the DRC will only be able to return to the U.S. 21 days after leaving that country.
Previously, only non-citizens had been barred from traveling back to the U.S. from the Ebola outbreak regions, and American travelers were being screened at select airports for any signs of the virus.