The first group of Kenyans placed in quarantine after contact with confirmed Ebola patients will begin returning home on Sunday, October 25, 2026, once they complete the mandatory 21-day monitoring period without showing symptoms, the Ministry of Health has said.

Health Director General Dr Patrick Amoth announced the planned release on Wednesday during an inter-governmental briefing on the response to the Bundibugyo Virus Disease outbreak. "Our first cases who have been in quarantine will begin leaving quarantine facilities on Sunday," he said, according to The Eastleigh Voice.

The group entered quarantine on October 6, the day Kenya confirmed its first case. The Star reported that the contacts will only be allowed to leave if they stay free of symptoms until the end of the monitoring window, which matches the maximum incubation period of the virus.

Who will run the exercise

The discharge will be led by the Kenya National Public Health Institute (KNPHI). The ministry has not said how many people are in the first group, where they have been held, or whether they will undergo final tests before leaving.

Amoth appealed to families and neighbours to receive the returning contacts without stigma. Speaking on Tuesday, he said people who complete 21 days without symptoms "pose no risk of infection to anyone," The Star reported.

Where the outbreak stands

Kenya has confirmed nine Ebola cases since October 6. The index patient, a 40-year-old Kenyan who travelled from the Democratic Republic of Congo through Uganda and arrived in Nairobi on October 3, died and was buried on October 6 under safe and dignified burial procedures.

The most recent case, confirmed on October 19, is a 24-year-old man who is a close family member of the index patient. He developed symptoms while already in quarantine and was isolated immediately, according to the ministry.

The other eight patients are receiving supportive care. "Our patients are improving and responding well to treatment," Amoth said in Tuesday's statement, while Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale said in a Wednesday update that all eight are stable, The Eastleigh Voice reported.

All nine infections belong to a single cluster linked to the index case, and the ministry says there is no evidence of community transmission. As of October 20, health officials had traced and quarantined 134 of the 135 people identified as contacts. Contacts receive daily follow-up for symptoms, and the list grows as each new case is confirmed.

"We are not out of the woods." – Dr Patrick Amoth, Director General for Health

Not yet an all-clear

Officials stressed that releasing the first contacts does not mean the outbreak is over. Under World Health Organization rules, a country can only declare an Ebola outbreak finished after 42 consecutive days without a new confirmed or probable case. That countdown has not started, because Kenya's latest case was confirmed this week.

The Bundibugyo strain has no approved vaccine or specific treatment, so care focuses on supporting patients through the illness. Vaccine candidates are in clinical trials.

The ministry says it has received 500 doses of medicines for treating confirmed cases and has sent protective equipment to 12 counties classed as very high-risk and 16 as high-risk. A dedicated laboratory has been set up at the Kenyatta National Hospital Infectious Disease Unit to run routine tests for Ebola patients. Amoth also said there has been "no spread of infection within quarantine facilities."

Kenya has not restricted travel, trade or public gatherings. Anyone with fever, unusual tiredness or unexplained bleeding is advised to seek care immediately or call the ministry's toll-free line, 719.

Photos: Dr Patrick Amoth – The Eastleigh Voice; health workers in protective gear – Citizen Digital