A Kenyan High Court judge on Friday suspended a plan to establish an Ebola quarantine facility for US nationals exposed to the virus, pending a legal challenge brought by activists. Judge Patricia Nyaundi ordered a halt to the agreement, with the case set to be heard next week.

The proposed arrangement emerged amid an Ebola outbreak centered in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo that has killed over 200 people and spread to Uganda. The US struck a deal to isolate and monitor potentially exposed citizens in Kenya rather than repatriate them directly.

The Katiba Institute, a Kenyan rights group, filed a petition challenging the facility, calling it “secretive and unilateral” and raising “grave constitutional concerns.” The group warned of “grave and imminent risks” to public health, arguing that bringing Ebola-exposed individuals into Kenya, which has no known cases, could increase the risk of spread.

The Kenyan government has acknowledged discussions with Washington over Ebola preparedness support but has not directly addressed the quarantine facility reports. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington intended to commit $13.5 million towards Kenya's Ebola preparedness efforts.

The Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Union issued a 48-hour strike alert, accusing authorities of putting public health at risk. Union Secretary-General Davji Atellah said the US appeared unwilling to allow Ebola-exposed individuals onto its soil and warned Kenya should not become a “dumping ground.”

The Law Society of Kenya also warned the country lacks the high-containment infrastructure needed to safely manage such a facility. The World Health Organization has warned the true scale of the outbreak is likely much larger than reported, with over 1,000 suspected cases and 220 deaths in DRC.

Source: www.aljazeera.com