“The facility that is at Laikipia Air Base is not a facility different from all the other facilities that we have across Kenya,” Ruto told reporters in northern Kenya late on Monday, urging Kenyans not to doubt the government’s preparedness.
The Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda are battling the rare Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus in an outbreak that has so far killed 48 people and been declared a public health emergency of international concern by the WHO.
The outbreak is outpacing the global response, which got off to a late start.
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Ruto said he approved the facility after US President Donald Trump asked Kenya to support it, citing decades of cooperation with Washington on health programmes including HIV/AIDS, Ebola and COVID-19.
The president said Kenya had prepared isolation, surveillance and treatment facilities in 23 counties, adding the facility would serve Kenyans as well as foreign partners, including Americans, if needed.
Ruto dismissed criticism of the plan, saying Kenya had a duty to prepare for any potential Ebola cases, including among Kenyans living or serving in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
A court last week temporarily suspended the plan after a lawsuit argued the site could endanger public health. Ruto did not acknowledge the existence of the court order.
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