Kenya, US are in Ebola complex talks after quarantine report

NAIROBI, Kenya - Kenya is in talks with the U.S. on Ebola-related health cooperation after media reports that the Trump administration is planning to send Americans exposed to the virus to a quarantine facility in the East African nation being built by the U.S. military.

Any such arrangement would be guided by Kenya's national laws, public-health regulations, and biosafety and biosecurity standards, Health Secretary Aden Duale said in a statement Wednesday.

"Kenya values its longstanding partnership with the United States and other global partners in strengthening health systems and health security capacities," Duale said.

The discussions put Kenya at the center of a politically sensitive response to a fast-growing Ebola outbreak that has strained health systems in eastern Congo, crossed into Uganda and raised fears of wider international spread.

To date, Kenya has screened more than 55,000 travelers for the disease at ports of entry and tested 10 suspected cases, all of which were negative, according to the statement.

Kenya has activated its national incident-management system, intensified surveillance at entry points, designated testing laboratories and strengthened coordination at national and county levels, it said.

The Trump administration hasn't publicly addressed the reported Kenya quarantine plan. It's focused on preventing Ebola cases from reaching the U.S., Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a Cabinet meeting Wednesday.

"We cannot and will not allow any cases of Ebola to enter the United States," he said.

Reuters reported that Kenya had provided the U.S. with written approval to open the facility, citing two official briefed on the response.

Kenyan officials have not notified the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention about a plan for quarantine facilities, Director-General Jean Kaseya said on Thursday.

He said he would expect to be able to weigh in on the plan, and that he would have concerns about locating such a complex in a country that's already facing a high risk for spread of the virus due to its position as a regional and logistics hub.

"Adding an international quarantine responsibility for foreign nationals could stretch the national capacities if it's not well supported by additional resources," Kaseya said. Quarantine facilities for Ebola would require "extremely sophisticated systems" for infection prevention, waste management and intensive care, he said.

The Democratic Republic of Congo reported 121 confirmed Ebola cases and 17 confirmed deaths as of May 26, while suspected cases climbed to 1,077 and suspected deaths reached 238, according to health ministry figures released Wednesday. Sixteen new confirmed infections were recorded in Ituri province alone, the ministry said.

Uganda closed its border with Congo on Wednesday as authorities stepped up efforts to prevent Ebola from spreading. The country has confirmed seven infections, including health workers exposed while treating infected patients, after the first case was detected in a Congolese patient who crossed the border for treatment and died in intensive care in Kampala on May 14.

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-With assistance from Naomi Kresge.

Copyright 2026 Tribune Content Agency. All Rights Reserved.

This story was originally published May 28, 2026 at 9:46 AM.