[Source: Reuters]
A Kenyan court has ordered the temporary suspension of a plan for the United States to set up an Ebola quarantine facility in the country after a lawsuit argued the site could endanger public health.
Senior U.S. officials said the 50-bed unit at an air force base in central Kenya would serve Americans who have been exposed to the virus but are still asymptomatic and would become operational on Friday.
Patients who develop symptoms would be sent for care in other countries outside the U.S., the officials said.
The plan to bring in Americans exposed to the outbreak in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda has drawn sharp opposition among many Kenyans since it came to light earlier this week.
Kenya’s government provided written approval for the plan on Thursday but has not directly addressed it in public comments.
In an order late on Thursday, Kenyan High Court Judge Patricia Nyaundi barred the government from admitting anyone exposed to or infected by Ebola under the planned agreement until a challenge brought by the Katiba Institute legal advocacy group was resolved.
The next hearing will take place on June 2, Nyaundi said.
