As international concern about the Ebola outbreak in central Africa grows, hundreds of Kenyans have died taken to the streets to oppose the Trump administration’s plan to send American citizens who have been infected with the virus to Kenya, instead of bringing them back to the United States. Two people have been shot and killed during the demonstration.
The outbreak began in the Democratic Republic of the Congo last month and has begun since spread to Uganda. There are currently no confirmed cases in Kenya, which shares a border with Uganda.
Kenyans are claim to find out why the United States wants to send Ebola patients to their country, and why their government gave the United States the initial approval to build a 50-bed quarantine center at Laikipia Airport in central Kenya.
Currently, the program has been suspended after a court decision in Kenya; Tuesday, court prolong suspension until at least June 23 and also ordered the Kenyan government to provide detailed information about its plan with the Trump administration, including the financial agreement and measures put in place to protect Kenyans.
Between cuts in US foreign aid in the region, pure aggression of this type of virus, and conspiracy theories that threatens public health workers, many public health workers fear that this Ebola outbreak has become a perfect storm.
To understand what is going on – and why the US is trying to involve Kenya – Today, It’s Explained co-host Noel King spoke with Sabrina Siddiqui, a national politics reporter for the Wall Street Journal who it helped break the story. They discussed views from Kenyans and public health experts and what will happen if Kenya continues to reject the administration.
The following is part of their conversation, edited for length and clarity. There’s a lot more in the full podcast, so take a listen Today, It’s Explained wherever you find podcasts, incl Apple Podcasts, Pandoraand Spotify.
The administration has been trying to establish a quarantine station in Kenya at an air force base where they would basically house Americans who have been infected with Ebola and anyone who will also be infected with the virus.
They describe it as somewhat a tent hospital. But there are various plans underway to add, if necessary, isolation units and biocontainment units. That is, of course, if there are people who are really sick or need more care.
I think they see this as an opportunity to have a place for Americans to keep in check while they are being evaluated, and they have sent public health officials from the United States to help in this effort. They have also said that if Americans get the virus, they would probably stay in this facility for a few days before being sent to another country. And they look facilities in Europe which could take the Americans if they really got sick.
What the United States is saying is: We do not want you to return to the United States. You look at the reaction to this here at home, and there is a lot of shock. Ebola outbreaks have happened before. This is a very dangerous, dangerous virus. How does the United States handle this when our citizens are affected?
That has been very surprising about the administration’s response to this pandemic. In previous outbreaksAmericans who had been infected with Ebola or who tested positive were allowed to return home and be monitored and cared for around the clock quarantine equipment here in the US. And we have biocontainment units too. During this recent outbreak of hantavirus, American passengers on board the cruise ship where the outbreak occurred have been isolated on one of them. biocontainment units in Nebraska.
So, in fact, it has been surprising to many public health officials and pathologists that Americans will not be allowed to return home. And it just seems that the Trump administration is taking a hard line against allowing anyone known to have Ebola back into the United States. What they say it’s that they don’t want any cases of Ebola to be in the US during this outbreak.
So the plan is: send Americans to Kenya. And what is the status of the program?
The Trump administration he announced that the United States and Kenya had reached an agreement to stop this quarantine center for Americans in Kenya. And then the Supreme Court of Kenya set a hold for a while about the Trump administration’s plan to establish the center. So right now, the plan is very much in limbo. As of now, it is unclear whether the plan will move forward.
How did people in Kenya react when they were told that the United States wants to send its citizens to you?
One of the lawyers who is part of the group of lawyers discussing this case he said“Is Kenya being reduced to a dumping ground?” I think that appeals to many Kenyans who learned about this program through news reports, and criticized their government for agreeing to allow Americans who were infected with Ebola. sent to Kenya while there are no known or suspected cases of Ebola in Kenya.
Obviously there is a lot of concern, including from medical groups in Kenya that there could possibly be an outbreak in Kenya that comes from bringing Americans into the country who have contracted the virus.
Does anyone know why (the administration chose) Kenya?
The administration said that they were looking for somewhere in an area that is not affected by the outbreak, where they do not believe there is a high risk of spreading and that is not too far so that people can get there quickly. Obviously there is also politics involved and it seems they were able to reach some kind of agreement with the government, even if it has been stopped by the courts.
Again, this is temporary for people who are sick. So it doesn’t even seem like it was a long-term plan in terms of how they plan to use this facility, because at the same time they say the Americans can put a quarantine in Kenya, they also said that anyone who gets sick will be transferred to a higher care facility and that they are currently talking to partners in Europe to try and identify where patients can be taken.
These are just some of the questions that many people have about the administration’s plans, which they have not mentioned painfully, and which have drawn criticism not only from the people of Kenya, but also from public health experts here at home who do not understand why they will not allow Americans to return to their country.
Let me ask you what you’ve been hearing from public health experts, because there is, in the opinion of non-experts, a knee-jerk reaction to this. It is: Ebola is dangerous, put people where they are, or put people somewhere else, so they don’t bring Ebola into the United States.
You said public health experts say this doesn’t make sense. Why doesn’t it make sense? What are they telling you?
I think there are several factors at play. One is that public health experts say that it is the responsibility of the US government to take care of its people and allow them to return home to get high quality of service and that they have this advanced equipment designed specifically for outbreaks and viruses like Ebola.
I also think there’s a mental health component, and that, in addition to just needing to get the right care, that people should have their own support system, that they should be allowed to be close to their families if they were to get sick. And people see that as a moral obligation that the United States should give Americans that opportunity.
There is also the fact that in previous outbreaks, Americans were brought home, and the Trump administration has not given a medical reason why they are so opposed to Americans coming home except to say that time is of the essence when someone has Ebola. Well, time was also of the essence in previous outbreaks, and America did not stop Americans from returning home.
You’ve been dealing with the hantavirus outbreak as well. And I’m wondering if you’re seeing a pattern here in how this administration is responding to these public health crises where the public tends to get a little frustrated and public health experts may have a different idea of what needs to happen.
Well, here’s what’s really interesting about the hantavirus outbreak and the Ebola outbreak. The Trump administration has been willing to embrace this very strict quarantine and isolation measures despite the fact that this administration is full of people at the highest levels of leadership who were very critical of what they saw as guidelines for social isolation and isolation during the Covid-19 pandemic.
And they go further. There were several passengers who wanted to leave the Nebraska terminal where those infected with the hanta virus have been quarantined. And the acting director of the CDC, Jay Bhattacharya, signed an order to force them to stay there. And now, when those passengers reach the end of their quarantine period – these are the ones who have been exposed to hantavirus, who have been asymptomatic and do not have hantavirus – they are now returning to their states. The Trump administration basically insists on 24/7 surveillance and not allowing them to leave their homes.
So, ironically, it is the very heavy-handed way that the Trump administration has responded to these outbreaks, even though it was they who used the criticism of public health institutions and the scientific community during Covid as a way to appeal to voters who are disillusioned with these types of guidelines and laws during the pandemic.
What are the stakeholders here? What will happen if Kenya says, no, President Donald Trump, we will not allow this?
Well, that will be a very interesting moment if it comes to fruition because it is not entirely clear if the Trump administration has a plan B.
It seems like this whole plan came together very quickly. Even the public health officers who were sent to Kenya when they were called for this job received about three days of training. And that’s something that some public health officials said is not enough for people who are going to go and try to serve a facility where you have this type of dangerous virus.
While the Trump administration is talking about whether they will be able to send Americans to other centers in Europe or not, they have not yet identified where those service centers would be, which only indicates that they have not really thought about what would happen if they are not allowed to stop at this center in Kenya. And I suspect that while they are still negotiating with the Europeans, it is very likely that the Europeans will have the same opinion as the Kenyans: “Why are you sending potentially sick Americans here instead of letting them go home?”
