The Trump administration is preparing to establish a new Ebola quarantine and treatment center in Kenya for Americans exposed to the deadly virus, bypassing the need to transport patients directly back to the United States, according to an administration official familiar with the plan.

The facility, being organized jointly by the War Department, the State Department, and the Department of Health and Human Services, is intended to serve Americans who may contract Ebola while in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Officials say the goal is to provide rapid treatment closer to the outbreak zone while avoiding lengthy emergency evacuation flights to the U.S.

An administration official speaking Wednesday on condition of anonymity said the new center would handle Ebola patients requiring urgent medical attention after leaving Congo. The person said the plan would help patients avoid an hourslong medical evacuation to the U.S.

Authorities have not yet disclosed the exact location of the facility inside Kenya, and it remains unclear whether the Kenyan government has formally approved the project.

According to the official, the center is expected to be equipped to treat every stage and severity of Ebola, which remains one of the world’s deadliest infectious diseases. The official added that patients could still be transferred elsewhere if more specialized treatment becomes necessary.

The move comes as health officials in Congo struggle to contain a rapidly worsening Ebola outbreak that the World Health Organization says is spreading faster than response teams can control. The crisis intensified after the rare Bundibugyo strain of Ebola was identified only weeks after infections had already been spreading, due in part to early testing being focused on a more common Ebola variant.

Suspected Ebola infections in eastern Congo are now approaching 1,000 cases, with at least 220 suspected deaths reported so far. Congo’s Health Ministry announced Tuesday that 101 cases have already been officially confirmed, while authorities are currently monitoring more than 3,000 possible contacts tied to the outbreak.

Containment efforts have been complicated by severe instability throughout eastern Congo, including armed militias operating in the region, widespread displacement of civilians, and crumbling infrastructure that has made medical response efforts far more difficult.