Kenya approves US plan to open Ebola quarantine facility, US officials say

NAIROBI, May 28 (Reuters) - ‌Kenya has ​provided ​written approval for the U.S. to open a quarantine facility in the East African ‌nation for Americans exposed to the Ebola outbreak ⁠centred in the Democratic Republic of Congo, two U.S. officials ‌briefed on the response ‌told Reuters.

The authorisation grants the U.S. access to land at an air force base in Laikipia in ​central Kenya, one of the officials said.

Officials at Kenya's foreign and health ministries did not immediately ⁠respond to requests for comment.

Kenya had been pushing for the facility ​to be open to all nationalities, not just U.S. citizens. It was not immediately clear ​if that would be the ‌case.

The facility would be staffed by members of the U.S. Public Health Service, ⁠a uniformed branch of the Department of Health and Human Services.

In a statement on Wednesday, Kenya's health ministry said ⁠it was in discussions with the U.S. and other global ​partners about cooperating on the response to Ebola but did not mention the plan for a quarantine facility.

One American doctor ‌infected with Ebola and several other U.S. citizens exposed to the virus have been ‌sent to Germany for treatment and monitoring. Another ⁠American doctor exposed to ‌the virus was ​sent to Czech Republic.

(Reporting by Aaron Ross in Nairobi; Editing by Alison Williams and Andrew ‌Cawthorne)

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