U.S. setting up Ebola quarantine facility in Kenya, officials say

The U.S. is in the process of setting up a quarantine facility in Kenya for Americans who were exposed to Ebola or infected with the deadly illness, multiple officials with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed to CBS News on Wednesday.

Trump administration officials say the facility will be operational Friday, and it’s designed to provide access to high-quality care for Americans who need to quickly get out of Congo and quarantine without the risks of a lengthy trip back to the U.S.

As of Thursday, the U.S. was not aware of any exposed Americans who will be transported to the Kenya center, senior administration officials said.

Another administration official told CBS News the government is planning for a facility that would serve “asymptomatic individuals” who may have been exposed to Ebola, in cooperation with the Kenyan government.

The effort to set up the Kenya facility was first reported by The Wall Street Journal.

On Thursday, senior Trump administration officials briefed reporters on the facility. They said a 50-bed quarantine unit would be established at Laikipia Air Base in Kenya, and confirmed it would be used to quarantine Americans who have been exposed to the virus and are asymptomatic.

If necessary, the unit would treat people if they test positive or begin showing symptoms until they are able to be evacuated to a high-level facility, likely in Europe, according to the officials, because the transit time would be shorter. The State Department has contracted aircraft to keep on standby in case they’re necessary for this effort. The U.S. is also working to move isolation units and biocontainment units to the facility, but there is no firm timeline on their arrival.

Over 30 commissioned officers with the Public Health Service have been training at Andrews AFB and are en route to Kenya to staff the facility.

American citizens will not be able to return to the U.S. until they are cleared from quarantine, CDC officials told CBS News.

A former CDC official who previously worked on the Ebola response told CBS News, “It would be unbelievably unethical and irresponsible to maroon Americans, given Kenya doesn’t have a proper Level 4 containment facility or much experience” dealing with Ebola.

More than 230 people in Congo are believed to have died from Ebola in the latest outbreak of the disease.

In the U.S., three airports — Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, Dulles International Airport outside Washington, D.C., and Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport — are screening international passengers who have recently been in Congo, South Sudan or Uganda for Ebola. New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport is expected to start screening international passengers Friday.

At the White House on Wednesday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said during a meeting of President Trump’s Cabinet that multiple government agencies were working hard to contain the outbreak to where it’s currently located.

“We cannot and will not allow any cases of Ebola to enter the United States,” Rubio said.

The first Trump administration official said the Kenya facility will enable Americans in the region who contract Ebola to receive lifesaving care as quickly as possible without having to spend over 12 hours on a medevac flight. Treatment capabilities at the facility are expected to be able to care for the full spectrum of the disease, including critical care needs, though each case will be evaluated for forward transport for more advanced care as appropriate in order to maximize patient outcomes, the Trump administration official said.

An American doctor was infected with Ebola while working with a medical missionary organization in the Democratic Republic of Congo. After being evacuated, he said last week he’s feeling “cautiously optimistic” as he fights the virus at a hospital in Germany.