Hundreds protest in Kenya against installation of Ebola quarantine center for US citizens

Protesters protest against the United States' proposal to establish an Ebola quarantine center at Laikipia Air Base in Nanyuki, Kenya
Andrew Kasuku/AP Photo
Hundreds of young people staged a protest this Monday (1st) in the town of Nanyuki, in central Kenya, against the installation of a quarantine center for American citizens exposed to Ebola at Laikipia Air Base.
Residents fear being exposed to the virus through patients transported to the site. There is no record, to date, of Ebola cases in the country in the current outbreak of the disease.
The protests came two days after the High Court of Kenya suspended the establishment of the center and the arrival of any foreign patients, pending the ruling of a case brought by the Kenya Bar Association and a constitutional watchdog.
The two organizations cited the fragility of the Kenyan health system as the reason why foreign Ebola patients should not be quarantined in the country. country.
Pace of spread of Ebola is outpacing response efforts, WHO says
U.S. officials said Thursday that the United States planned to send Americans exposed to Ebola abroad to a new facility in Kenya rather than repatriate them.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the administration's plans. They said the facility would be located at Laikipia Air Base and would be operational with 50 quarantine beds by this Friday (5).
On Monday, hundreds of young people marched to the gates of the air base, chanting slogans against Ebola.
Health Minister Aden Duale said on Sunday that the quarantine center was for "everyone" and not exclusively for American citizens.
The US government intends to invest US$13.5 million in the quarantine efforts. Kenya's preparedness against Ebola, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement.
Local leaders, including Laikipia Governor Joshua Irungu, told journalists they opposed the creation of an Ebola quarantine center.
"This will expose our population to Ebola," he said, adding that many local residents work inside the air base and could be exposed.
Protester displays sign during a protest against the proposed quarantine center for United States Ebola at Laikipia Air Base in Nanyuki, Kenya.
Andrew Kasuku/AP Photo
A resident, Malin Ndegwa, said Kenya should not be exposed to the virus by hosting foreigners when it is not the epicenter of the outbreak.
"Why aren't they doing this in the Democratic Republic of Congo? Why aren't they doing this in Uganda? Why do they need to bring this here? So we are saying categorically that we don't want negotiations, We want this facility removed from our city, we want it removed from Kenya," he said.
Kenya has reported no cases of Ebola, but neighboring country Uganda has reported nine and closed its border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
Global health emergency
At least 282 confirmed cases have been reported in the DRC, with more than 1,000 suspected cases of the Bundibugyo virus, the current variant of Ebola, which is known as Ebola. it has no approved treatment or vaccine.
The new variant of Ebola has caused the virus to spread rapidly throughout the Democratic Republic of Congo and raises an alert for a new regional epidemic of the disease.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the outbreak in the country probably began a few months ago and that the response from international health bodies was "a little late".
Ebola is a rare but serious disease in humans, which often leads to death - the disease's average fatality rate is 50%.
It spreads among humans through direct contact with blood, secretions or other bodily fluids of infected people and with contaminated surfaces and materials.
With information from the Associated Press

Source: G1