A Kenyan court temporarily halted the opening of an Ebola quarantine centre for US nationals on Friday following a petition filed by a rights group.

The facility was due to open in the east Africa nation on Friday according to US officials, to quarantine Americans arriving from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which is battling a major Ebola outbreak.

Washington has defended its criticised decision not to repatriate Americans infected with the virus.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has vowed not to allow any Ebola cases on US soil.

The US-built facility was set to have 50 isolation beds and be managed by US medical staff at Laikipia Air Base, about 200km (124 miles) from the capital, Nairobi.

A US official confirmed the establishment of the quarantine centre on Thursday but the Kenyan government has not directly addressed questions about the facility.