Seven American aid workers quarantine in Kenya after US travel ban
Seven American aid workers returning from fighting the Ebola outbreak in Congo are quarantining at a new isolation facility in Kenya after the US government imposed travel restrictions.
Seven US aid workers who had been in the Democratic Republic of Congo to combat the Ebola outbreak are now quarantining at a newly built isolation facility in Kenya, according to Franklin Graham, president and CEO of Samaritan's Purse, the Christian aid group employing them.
None of the workers have shown any symptoms, but the Kenyan government has ordered a 21-day quarantine. Authorities emphasize the move is precautionary. The group arrived at the facility on Monday and is sleeping on army cots in tents.
The US government is constructing a 50-bed bio-isolation unit at an air force base in central Kenya for asymptomatic Americans exposed to the virus in Congo or Uganda. The project has sparked strong opposition from Kenyans, who see it as the US shifting health risks abroad. A Kenyan court ordered construction halted, but work continued.
Some of the workers treated Ebola patients at Samaritan's Purse treatment centers in Congo, while others performed tasks like construction without direct patient contact. One case is considered potentially high-risk. Kenyan authorities are not allowing the group to leave the facility.
Samaritan's Purse, an evangelical Christian organization, is one of the largest foreign aid groups fighting Ebola in Congo and has received several million dollars from the Trump administration for the response. Earlier this month, one of its US staff members who contracted Ebola was transferred to a hospital in Germany.
