Trump Administration Plans Ebola Quarantine and Treatment Program for Americans in Kenya

According to reporting cited from The New York Times, the Trump administration is preparing a plan to handle Americans exposed to the Ebola virus outside the United States by sending them to Kenya for quarantine and treatment rather than transporting them back to the U.S. The policy reportedly applies to U.S. citizens, government scientists, and medical personnel who may have been exposed during the ongoing Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The outbreak has been described as one of the largest Ebola emergencies on record, with more than 1,000 infections and over 200 deaths reported within an 11-day period. The World Health Organization has declared the situation a public health emergency. Under the administration’s reported strategy, exposed Americans would first be monitored in Kenya, and if symptoms developed, they could receive treatment there instead of being transferred elsewhere. Sources familiar with the plans told the NYT that the U.S. government is already establishing quarantine and treatment facilities in Kenya and training Public Health Service officers to provide medical care on site. The article also notes that previous U.S. administrations generally brought infected or exposed Americans back to the United States for monitoring and treatment. The report further states that the administration recently invoked Title 42 restrictions to prevent immigrants and legal permanent residents who had recently traveled through Congo, Uganda, or South Sudan from entering the United States. The new Ebola response plan would similarly keep potentially exposed American citizens outside the country during the observation and treatment period. Only a limited number of Americans have reportedly been affected so far, including an American doctor in Germany and several others transferred to European countries for monitoring.