WASHINGTON, United States, May 29, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - An Ebola quarantine center for US nationals will open Friday in Kenya, US officials said, defending Washington's criticized decision not to repatriate Americans infected with the virus.

The US-built facility, located at the East African country's Laikipia Air Base, is intended to "quarantine American citizens who may have been exposed to the Bundibugyo variant of the Ebola virus," a US official speaking on condition of anonymity told reporters Thursday.

The center will have 50 isolation beds and is to be managed by US medical staff and technicians currently en route to Kenya, he added.

The center will later be provided with additional personnel, as well as "three isolation units, each capable of housing four patients," and "two bio containment units, each able to hold two patients each, the official said, without providing a timeline.

The goal is to isolate Americans there believed to have been exposed to the virus responsible for a new outbreak of hemorrhagic fever in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda.

Should these patients develop symptoms or test positive, they would be treated in the units "until they are transported out" to specialized centers in Europe, the official said.

Asked why these patients would not be evacuated directly to the United States, where facilities dedicated to such medical emergencies exist, the official said the goal was to shorten the patients' journey.

He denied any political motivation to the decision, reiterating that the arrangement would allow for providing the best care to affected Americans.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also spoke with Kenyan President William Ruto via telephone on Thursday, Rubio's spokesperson said in a statement, adding that Washington intends to provide $13.5 million in aid to fund Kenya's Ebola preparedness efforts.

Meanwhile, a Kenyan rights group said Thursday it had filed a court petition against the quarantine center plans, saying it was being established unilaterally and in secret.

A second US official assured that Kenyan authorities have given "forward approval" for the project to Washington, which has had discussions with Ruto "on the establishment of this facility."

The World Health Organization has recorded 10 confirmed and 223 suspected Ebola deaths in the DRC since the Ebola outbreak was declared in mid-May, out of more than 1,000 confirmed and suspected cases.