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US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Wednesday that Americans who test positive for Ebola while under observation at a facility in Kenya could be sent for treatment in the United States in an apparent shift from the Trump administration’s position that no one with the virus would be allowed into the country.
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“We’re not actually asking Kenya to set up treatment for Americans. I think the one that’s been very controversial is a misunderstanding. There is a facility that the Kenyans are allowing us to open. If there are any Americans that are exposed, potentially exposed, they will be transferred to this facility for observation,” Rubio told a Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing.
“If they test positive at any time while in that facility, we will remove them from Kenya and send them to the nearest treatment facility, either in Europe or in the home – or in the United States, to be treated for Ebola,” he said.
He did not immediately provide further details.
The US facility in Kenya has faced significant backlash. Rubio said last week that “we cannot and will not allow any cases of Ebola to enter the United States.”
CNN has reached out to the Department of Health and Human Services and the State Department for further details on Rubio’s comments.
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In guidance posted on its website, the State Department advises that if a US citizen is asymptomatic but at high risk for exposure, “State Department and U.S. embassy staff may arrange transportation to a facility in Kenya for a 21-day quarantine period from the last date of Ebola exposure, to include access to appropriate medical care provided by expert U.S. clinicians.”
“U.S. citizens who become symptomatic during quarantine may be transported via specialized aeromedical evacuation for appropriate treatment,” the Department said.
If a US citizen is symptomatic or tests positive, the guidance says, “State Department and U.S. embassy staff may arrange specialized aeromedical evacuation to a designated safe location for appropriate treatment.”
It does not give details on such locations.
This story is breaking and will be updated.