Why there's a debate over the new quarantine center for Americans at risk of Ebola

Protesters carry a mock coffin as they march during a demonstration against a U.S.-built Ebola quarantine center in Kenya for Americans at high risk of exposure to Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo, epicenter of the outbreak. Luis Tato/AFP/via Getty Images hide caption

In Kenya today, protests erupted for a second time in as many weeks. Residents are upset about a quarantine facility that the U.S. is setting up in the town of Nanyuki in the central part of the country about 120 miles from the capital, Nairobi.

Its purpose is to quarantine and observe American citizens who have had a high-risk exposure to Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan, or Uganda. Public health officials worry that the outbreak could become the world's most devastating Ebola crisis to date. The U.S. has already committed $13.5 million to Kenya to support the country's own Ebola response efforts.

Many Kenyans complain that their government hasn't been fully transparent about the quarantine center — an initiative that they worry might bring the virus into the country. But the U.S. isn't backing down from preparing the facility for possible patients, despite the tensions that it has inflamed.

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Secretary of State Marco Rubio laid out the rationale behind the facility at a Cabinet meeting on May 27. "The number one priority of our foreign policy is to protect the American people," he said. "We cannot and will not allow any cases of Ebola to enter the United States."

A week later, Rubio called his statement a "misunderstanding," saying that Americans could return to the U.S. for treatment if they're sick. But officials remain undeterred in their plans to construct the quarantine facility on an air base in Nanyuki.

In an email to NPR, the State Department elaborated, "Kenya was selected due to proximity, airports in the region having limited capability, and to ensure Americans can be evaluated and receive assistance in a timely matter."