A protester has been killed at a rally linked to Ebola in Kenya, witnesses say, as health experts report "slow, steady progress" in tracing the outbreak in Africa.
Plans for American patients to be quarantined near a Kenyan military base have sparked fury in the east African country, where people accuse the US of offloading the risk on them.
Hundreds of people staged new demonstrations in the town of Nanyuki on Tuesday, which escalated into clashes involving tear gas and riot police. Several witnesses, including organiser Patrick Wahome, said a man had died from a gunshot wound to the head, Reuters reported.
There have been 550 confirmed cases of Ebola, including 101 deaths, according to the latest figures from the World Health Organisation (WHO), as well as 94 suspected cases. The outbreak of the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola was announced on May 15, although officials have since said it went undetected for weeks, complicating efforts to bring it under control.
Efforts to trace contacts of patients in the Democratic Republic of Congo have improved but are below target, the WHO said on Tuesday. "We have reached 62 per cent of contacts, but our target is 90-95 per cent," Dr Abdi Mahamud from the WHO told reporters from DR Congo.
"It is slow, steady progress, but we have not reached where we want to be," Dr Mahamud said. He said the WHO hoped to reach its target "in the coming weeks", although attacks on burial teams and treatment centres have been reported.
The US and Kenya are standing by their plan for a 50-bed unit at the Laikipia Air Base, next to Nanyuki. Two more people were killed in protests last week.
On Tuesday, police began firing tear gas early in the morning to disperse hundreds of protesters who had gathered in different parts of the town. Some waved Kenyan flags and one carried a white cross emblazoned with the phrase "Reject Ebola" in red. More than 10 protesters were also detained by police, reporters said.
Protester Priscilla Imani said the area's association with the quarantine facility was scaring away tourists who typically come to climb Mount Kenya or see rhinoceroses at a nearby nature conservancy.
A High Court judge has twice issued orders barring Kenya's government from taking steps to begin operations at the site. But US military planes have continued to ferry in staff and equipment after the court issued its orders
The Nanyuki facility is designated for Americans who have been exposed to the virus but are still asymptomatic. Kenyan officials have said the facility would also serve Kenyans and foreign nationals, but US officials have not confirmed this.
Many protesters directed their anger at President William Ruto, with some chanting "Ruto must go!" The President said last week that his government was doing "the right thing" by establishing the centre.
