NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — A court in Kenya on Friday suspended a U.S. plan to establish a quarantine facility for Americans exposed to a rare type of Ebola virus spreading in northeastern Congo, following a backlash by medical workers and activists.
A U.S. administration official said on Wednesday that the U.S. was planning to send Americans who are exposed to Ebola while abroad to a new facility in Kenya instead of flying them home. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to share the administration’s plans. It was unclear where in Kenya the new facility would be built or whether the Kenyan government signed off on the plan.
The Kenyan government said it was in discussions with the U.S. on support for Ebola preparedness, but declined to address whether the country would establish a treatment facility for Americans. The U.S. government intends to commit $13.5 million toward Kenya’s Ebola preparedness efforts, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement.
The High Court in Nairobi on Friday put a stop to any deal on the Ebola facility until petitions against it are heard on Tuesday.
An organization formed to defend Kenya’s Constitution, Katiba Institute, and the Kenya Law Society separately challenged any presence of Ebola-related facilities. The Kenya Law Society asked the court to nullify any agreements signed between the U.S. and Kenya on the project, citing public health risks and a lack of public participation.
It also said that Kenya lacks “the high-containment infrastructure required to safely manage such a facility, exposing the public to serious health risks.”
A Kenyan doctors' union on Thursday issued a 48-hour strike notice should the country proceed with the deal. It said the U.S. was clear that they would not allow Ebola on their soil and that Kenya should not become a “dumping ground.”
“As the vanguard of Kenya’s healthcare system, we are utterly disgusted by the government’s apparent willingness to trade national biosecurity and the lives of its citizens for foreign aid,” the union’s chairperson, Davji Atellah, said in a statement.
Ordinary Kenyans have been angered by the plan.
“Why do they want to get infected people and bring them to Kenya? Kenya is not a dumping area for such sick people," laborer Cedric Akweyu said in an interview with The Associated Press.
Student Wycliff Otieno also expressed concern. “It is like the government has been given a lot of money by the U.S. So, it is like they are selling us,” he said.
In northeastern Congo, health workers with scant supplies have been struggling to contain an outbreak of the Bundibugyo virus, a kind of Ebola that has no approved treatment or vaccine.
The Congolese government has confirmed more than 1,000 suspected cases, with at least 220 deaths, since it declared an outbreak on May 15. But the virus had been spreading undetected for weeks and the WHO suspects it is much larger than what has been reported.
The virus also has reached neighboring Uganda, which has confirmed seven cases and one death.
Associated Press journalist Jackson Njehia in Nairobi, Kenya, contributed.
Workers load World Health Organization (WHO) emergency supplies onto a United Nations plane in Nairobi, Kenya, Wednesday, May 20, 2026, headed for Congo to combat the Ebola outbreak in Ituri province. (AP Photo/Andrew Kasuku)
Stocks rose on Wall Street in afternoon trading Friday, adding to the all-time highs they set a day earlier.
The S&P 500 rose 0.3% Friday. The index is coming off six gains in a row and is headed for a ninth straight winning week, which would be the longest such streak since 2023.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 349 points, or 0.7%, as of 1:18 p.m. Eastern. The Nasdaq composite rose 0.3%. Every major index is on track for records and to close out May with solid gains.
Markets in Europe and Asia mostly rose.
Technology stocks lead the gains. Dell Technologies surged 28.7% after after delivering profits that blew past expectations. The company also raised its outlook, citing powerful demand for AI computing.
Microsoft rose 3.9% and Broadcom rose 2.9%. Big technology stocks have been behind much of the market’s record-breaking streak. Their pricey stock values give them more influence in directing the market higher or lower. In May alone, technology stocks within the S&P 500 rose more than 15%, while most of the sectors in the benchmark index actually lost ground.
“The rally has been largely tech-led and supported by resilient earnings, but the key question is whether it can be sustained,” wrote Angelo Kourkafas, senior global strategist at Edward Jones, in a research note.
Wall Street has been gaining ground against worries that the U.S. war with Iran is worsening inflation and jeopardizing economic growth.
The U.S. and Iran are reportedly working toward a deal to extend a ceasefire. That eased pressure on oil prices. Brent crude, the international standard, fell 2.1% to $90.78 a barrel. It is still well above the $70 per barrel level in late February before the war began. Benchmark U.S. crude fell 2.3% to $86.89 per barrel.
Treasury yields held relatively steady as oil prices fell. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.44% from 4.45% from late Thursday.
High oil prices remain a key concern for Wall Street. The war has stifled the flow of oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz. Roughly a fifth of the world’s oil and natural gas is shipped through the waterway.
That has pushed up prices for gasoline and a wide range of goods, feeding inflation and squeezing consumers and businesses. Prices were already rising before the war began from the ongoing impact of tariffs.
Several reports this week reflected inflation’s rise and impact on consumers. A measure of inflation preferred by the Federal Reserve accelerated in April to its highest level in three years. Consumer confidence is slipping amid the squeeze from rising inflation.
Wall Street’s worries about rising inflation have been somewhat muted by the latest round of corporate profit reports. Companies in the S&P 500 have reported profit growth of 28% overall for the most recent quarter, according to FactSet. The overwhelming majority of companies in the S&P 500 have already reported their latest results. That could mean investors’ focus may shift back toward inflation, consumers’ behavior and the Fed’s path ahead for interest rates.
The Fed has been holding its benchmark interest rate steady as it closely watches rising inflation. It is expected to continue holding rates steady at its next meeting in June and through the year, according to CME’s FedWatch tool. Cutting interest rates could help lower borrowing costs and give the economy a jolt, but it could also worsen inflation at time when prices are already high and rising.
Trader James Lamb works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Friday, May 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Trader Edward Curran, left, and specialist Meric Greenbaum, center, work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Friday, May 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Currency traders work near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), top center, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won, top left, at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, May 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
Asia markets index of Japan, South Korea and Australia is seen on a screen at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, May 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
A currency trader watches monitors near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), top center, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won, top left, at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, May 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
Trader Robert Arciero works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Friday, May 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
