NAIROBI, Kenya- Seven American aid workers have been placed under a mandatory 21-day quarantine at a bio-isolation facility in central Kenya after returning from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where they had been supporting the response to the ongoing Ebola outbreak, according to Reuters.
The workers are employed by the Christian humanitarian organisation Samaritan’s Purse and are the first known occupants of the controversial US-funded quarantine facility, which has been the subject of legal and political disputes in Kenya.
Samaritan’s Purse President and CEO Franklin Graham told Reuters that the organisation has seven members of its Disaster Assistance Response Team at the facility.
“None of them have any symptoms, but they are being quarantined by the Kenyan government for 21 days,” Graham said.
The quarantine follows new US government travel restrictions requiring American citizens returning from the DRC, where Ebola infections continue to rise, to spend 21 days in a third country before they are allowed back into the United States.
The policy is intended to reduce the risk of importing the deadly virus.
According to Reuters, a US State Department official said the group voluntarily moved into the Kenyan facility for precautionary monitoring and isolation and that the decision was taken “strictly out of an abundance of caution.”
The official added that Kenyan authorities authorised the workers’ movement into the facility, where they are being monitored by clinicians from the US Public Health Service.
Sources familiar with the matter told Reuters the group arrived at the facility earlier this week.
While some of the aid workers had directly treated Ebola patients in the DRC, others were involved in support roles, including construction, with no direct contact with infected patients.
One individual is reported to have had a potential high-risk exposure, though all seven remain asymptomatic.
The quarantine centre has generated fierce opposition in Kenya since plans for its construction emerged. Critics have argued that the United States is transferring the risks associated with Ebola management to Kenya.
The facility is currently at the centre of an ongoing court battle after a Kenyan court ordered construction to stop pending a final ruling.
However, Reuters reported that work on the site has continued despite the court order, with US officials maintaining that the facility is necessary for emergency public health operations.
The latest development comes as health authorities continue battling an Ebola outbreak in eastern DRC, prompting several countries to tighten border health measures and travel protocols.