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Donald Trump administration confirmed Wednesday that it is constructing a quarantine and treatment center in Kenya for US citizens exposed to Ebola during the Democratic Republic of the Congo outbreak, rather than repatriating them to specialized biocontainment units in the United States. A White House official told the Guardian the facility is designed "to provide access to high-quality care for Americans who would need to quickly get out of DRC and quarantine without the risks of a lengthy transport back to the US."
What does the facility do? It is intended primarily for Americans exposed to Ebola in DRC, with onward transport "evaluated" case by case, The Hill reported. Public health service officers are being prepared for rapid deployment to staff the new site. The administration has separately banned green-card holders who recently travelled in DRC, Uganda or South Sudan from re-entering the US, the Guardian reported, with the same restriction applying to other recent travellers to the three countries.
Who is criticizing it? Jennifer Nuzzo, director of the Pandemic Center at Brown University's School of Public Health, told the Guardian the policy was "shocking" because it "prevents Americans from coming home to receive the proven world-class care that our taxpayer-funded biocontainment and treatment units are equipped to provide." She added that "there are profound ethical concerns with this approach," especially around adequate quarantine planning for staff. Several Democratic lawmakers also questioned why the administration was building parallel infrastructure rather than relying on the four existing US biocontainment units, The Hill reported.
Why this design? Administration officials told The Hill that long-haul flights with Ebola-exposed patients pose containment and crew-safety problems, and that an in-region facility cuts that risk. Kenya, which has no active outbreak, was chosen for its proximity to DRC and existing US medical-mission infrastructure.
Figures referenced: Donald Trump. — JudgeMarket.
