Tipsheet

A Kenyan Court Just Nixed the U.S. Ebola Quarantine Plan

Amy Curtis
Amy Curtis  |  May 29, 2026 8:00 AM

On May 28, the U.S. announced a plan to set up an Ebola quarantine facility for American citizens in the African nation. With a widespread Ebola outbreak impacting the Congo, South Sudan, and Uganda, officials are working to prevent the spread of the virus, which last had a major outbreak with U.S. cases between 2014 and 2016. The U.S. planned to house Americans who had been exposed to Ebola in one of the aforementioned nations.

A Kenyan court has suspended that U.S. plan, however.

Here's more:

A high court in Kenya has temporarily suspended the establishment in the country of an Ebola quarantine unit for Americans, dealing a blow to the Trump administration’s plans to have the facility operational on Friday.

The court order, an official version of which was seen by The New York Times, was dated Thursday and came after a civil society group filed a petition challenging the constitutionality of the quarantine facility.

It was unclear how long the suspension would last, but a further hearing about the case is expected on Tuesday.

The civil society group, the Katiba Institute, said it wanted to compel the Kenyan government — which has not confirmed the existence of a deal to accept American citizens — to disclose details of any such arrangement.

The U.S. has not responded to the court ruling yet.

The U.S. has also upped the travel health notice for Uganda to from Level One to Level Two.

According to WION News, the U.S. had pledged $13.5 million to Kenya's Ebola preparedness efforts, but that plan is now 'in limbo' pending the court ruling and subsequent hearings. The CDC also raised the Ebola travel advisory level for Uganda to Level Two, urging travelers to take 'enhanced precautions' while Uganda has closed its borders with Congo and banned large gatherings.

The Trump administration is determined not to let Ebola cases enter the United States. 

During the May 27 Cabinet meeting, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said, "We cannot and will not allow any cases of Ebola to enter the United States."

“The State Department and other agencies represented here, the Centers of Disease Control, HHS, others," Rubio added, "are working very, very hard to contain this crisis to the countries where it’s currently located, particularly the Democratic Republic of the Congo."