The Trump administration is developing plans to establish a quarantine facility in Kenya for American citizens exposed to the Ebola virus.
According to The New York Times, the facility is being established through a joint effort involving the State Department, the Department of Defense, and the Department of Health and Human Services.
Several dozen Public Health Service officers are currently undergoing training to deploy to Kenya to provide medical care to Americans deemed at high risk of developing the disease.
During previous Ebola outbreaks, American health workers and citizens who were exposed to the virus were repatriated to the United States and treated at specialized medical units.
In contrast, the current administration recently transported an American doctor exhibiting symptoms to a hospital in Germany, while sending six other Americans to Germany and the Czech Republic for monitoring.
The initial plan called for monitoring exposed Americans in Kenya and transferring anyone who developed symptoms to Europe for treatment.
However, the administration has since expanded the plan to include treatment in Kenya as well, particularly for government scientists and physicians who show symptoms.
Each case will be assessed individually if more advanced care is required elsewhere, according to a Trump administration official cited by the Times.
This decision comes as the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) continues to escalate rapidly.
The outbreak has reached more than 1,000 cases and over 200 deaths within just 11 days since it was officially announced, making it already the third largest on record.
Critics have attributed the spread to aid cuts by the Trump administration that eliminated disease surveillance networks and medical supply chains, which experts claim could have detected and contained the epidemic earlier.
Last week, the administration also utilized a public health law known as Title 42 to prevent immigrants and legal permanent residents who had been in Congo, Uganda, or South Sudan within the previous 21 days from entering the United States.
Ebola carries a mortality rate of approximately 50 percent, though timely access to quality care and treatment can substantially improve survival chances.
Experts quoted by The New York Times expressed doubts about whether a newly established facility in Kenya would be capable of providing the same level of care as the specialized Ebola treatment units already available in the United States.
The White House refused to comment on the matter.