Trump Administration to Send Americans Exposed to Ebola to Kenya
The New York Times • • world
Key Points:
- The Trump administration plans to send U.S. citizens exposed to the Ebola virus to Kenya for observation and treatment, rather than bringing them back to the United States as done in previous outbreaks.
- This approach contrasts with prior administrations, which transported exposed Americans to specialized medical units in the U.S. or Europe; recently, some Americans were sent to Germany and the Czech Republic for monitoring and treatment.
- The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo has rapidly escalated to over 1,000 cases and 200 deaths, becoming the third largest on record, with aid cuts by the Trump administration hindering early detection and containment efforts.
- The administration has also invoked Title 42 to bar entry into the U.S. of immigrants and legal residents who had been in Congo, Uganda, or South Sudan within the past 21 days.
- A few dozen Public Health Service officers are being trained to deploy to Kenya to care for at-risk Americans, with plans to transfer symptomatic individuals to Europe for treatment.