Kenyan court halts US-backed Ebola isolation facility plan

A Kenyan High Court order has put a proposed Ebola quarantine centre supported by the United States on hold, court records show.

Justice Patricia Nyaundi determined that anyone who had been exposed to Ebola, or who had contracted the virus, should be barred from entering Kenya. The ruling stops the initiative for now.

Washington had intended to set up a medical site in Kenya where Americans exposed to Ebola during the Democratic Republic of Congo outbreak could receive treatment and be kept apart from others.

Officials said the facility was meant to get patients care more quickly and reduce the risks linked to moving them over long distances for medical evacuation.

The court action creates another legal and diplomatic obstacle for international work to manage the continuing outbreak in the region.