According to a CDC worst‑case model assuming only 20 % of Ebola cases are isolated, simulations suggest the outbreak could exceed 20,000 infections and 4,000 deaths within three months.
“Utterly disgusted”
Following the U.S. withdrawal from the World Health Organization and the dismantling of the USAID, American support for the Ebola response has weakened and slowed relative to previous outbreaks, reducing the overall effectiveness of the effort.
The Trump administration’s isolationist approach—featuring travel bans and border closures—has heightened tensions abroad. It aims to bar even U.S. citizens who may have been exposed or infected from re‑entering the country, opting instead to establish a temporary quarantine site at a Kenyan military base, despite Kenya having no reported Ebola cases.
The proposal has provoked outrage and violent demonstrations across Kenya. The New York Times reports that demonstrators claim Kenyan leaders are acquiescing to Trump’s demands, risking the introduction of a lethal virus while accepting U.S. citizens whom the United States itself will not admit.
“We are utterly disgusted by the government’s apparent willingness to sacrifice national biosecurity and the lives of our citizens for foreign aid,” said the Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union in a statement.
The Times notes that hundreds have assembled in Nanyuki, the town nearest the air base, where at least three protesters have been shot and killed in clashes with police, per the Kenya Human Rights Commission.
Although a Kenyan court issued a temporary injunction halting the quarantine facility, the Trump administration persists in advancing its plans.