Kenya halts construction work on US Ebola quarantine facility

Kenyan Health Secretary Aden Duale has frozen the construction of an Ebola isolation facility for U.S. citizens, after he was found guilty of contempt for ignoring a court directive to halt the work.

“I have directed the immediate and complete cessation of any intended construction site preparations or related activities concerning the Laikipia air base facilities,” Duale told the High Court in Nairobi. “It was never the intention of the ministry or myself as the Cabinet secretary to disregard, undermine, or act in defiance of the orders.”

Duale previously told lawmakers that the U.S. has committed $13.5 million to Kenya, partly to help the East African nation establish 23 Ebola quarantine centers, including a 50-bed facility at the military air base to handle American service personnel exposed to the virus.

Democratic Republic of Congo, which reported an outbreak of the highly contagious disease just over a month ago, has recorded 1,094 cases and 277 deaths as of Tuesday.

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