Seven US aid workers quarantined at Kenya U.S.-built center

Seven American aid workers are now quarantined at a U.S.-built isolation facility in central Kenya, marking the first use of a controversial site that has sparked significant local opposition and remains the subject of an ongoing legal battle. The workers, employed by the U.S.-based Christian charity Samaritans Purse, had been assisting in the response to an Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The group moved to the facility on Monday, July 13, 2026, following a new U.S. government policy requiring American citizens returning from Congo to spend 21 days in a third country before entering the United States. A U.S. State Department official stated the asymptomatic individuals had voluntarily moved to the Kenya facility for precautionary monitoring and isolation, a decision described as being made strictly out of an abundance of caution. They are being monitored by U.S. Public Health Service clinicians.

Franklin Graham, president and CEO of Samaritans Purse, confirmed the quarantine, noting none of the seven staff members have shown any symptoms of the virus. According to a source familiar with the situation, the group is sleeping on army cots in tents at the site....