Seven American aid workers quarantined in Kenya after US travel ban prevents return from Congo Ebola mission

Jul 17, 2026

Seven American aid workers from Samaritan's Purse are quarantining for 21 days at a controversial US-built bio-isolation facility in Kenya. The quarantine follows a July 14, 2026 US travel policy requiring citizens returning from Ebola-affected areas in the Democratic Republic of the Congo to spend three weeks in a third country. The facility, located at a Kenyan air base, has sparked local protests and a legal battle, with a Kenyan court ordering a suspension of its construction.

US Congo travel restrictions

▪The United States government's travel restrictions preventing direct return from the Democratic Republic of the Congo were introduced on July 14, 2026.
▪The United States government introduced a travel policy requiring American citizens returning from the Democratic Republic of the Congo to spend three weeks in a third country before entering the United States.

Kenya quarantine facility

▪The seven American aid workers arrived at the quarantine site in central Kenya on July 13, 2026, where they are sleeping in army cots in tents.
▪The United States government is constructing a 50-bed bio-isolation unit on an air force base in central Kenya to monitor asymptomatic Americans exposed to Ebola.
▪The United States government has committed 1.9 billion Kenyan Shillings to support Kenya's Ebola preparedness, and the Trump administration sought $800 million in emergency funding for the Kenyan quarantine facility.
▪Seven asymptomatic American aid workers from Samaritan's Purse are quarantining for 21 days at a bio-isolation facility in Kenya after returning from an Ebola mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Kenya legal dispute

▪A Kenyan court ordered construction of the United States-backed Ebola isolation facility to be suspended following a lawsuit filed by the Katiba Institute.
▪Kenya's health minister ordered a halt to the facility's construction after being found in contempt of court for failing to observe the suspension order.

Congo Ebola outbreak severity

▪The Bundibugyo species Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has killed at least 828 people since mid-May 2026.
▪The World Health Organization stated that the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is spreading largely undetected.

Samaritan's Purse aid operations

▪An American staff member of Samaritan's Purse who contracted Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo was transferred to a hospital in Germany on July 13, 2026.
▪Samaritan's Purse is an evangelical Christian aid group operating as one of the largest foreign organizations treating Ebola patients in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.