Nurse Kaci Hickox of Maine defies Ebola quarantine warning by state officials and goes out for a bike ride.
Ebola has sparked a state of health concern in the U.S. after several doctors and nurses contracted the disease after returning from Ebola-affected regions of West Africa. Hickox recently returned to the U.S. after serving patients in Sierra Leone, one of the hardest-hit Ebola nations of Africa, for an aid organization called Doctors Without Borders.
Hickox was forcefully quarantined in New Jersey, where she arrived from Africa. She was tested negative for Ebola and then released to return to Fort Kent, a small town in Maine. She was asked by Maine health officials to stay back home until the end of Ebola's 21-day incubation period. Hickox did not receive any written notice to stay back at home from health officials or from the court.
However, Hickox defied the voluntary quarantine orders and went out biking with her boyfriend. She was followed by an unmarked police vehicle and a number of reporters and photographers. Hickox claims that she has been tested negative for Ebola twice and she does not want her civil rights to be violated by being quarantined.
"It is not my intention to put anyone at risk in this community," says Hickox. "We have been negotiating with the state of Maine all day and tried to resolve this amicably, but they will not allow me to leave my house and have any interaction with the public even though I am completely healthy and symptom free."
Paul LePage, Maine's Governor, has indicated that authorities are pursuing a court order for Hickox's 21-day quarantine. However, Hickox claims that she will fight if the court passes such an order. LePage also suggested that authorities and Hickox's attorney's should come to a compromise where Hickox is allowed outside her home, but restricted from public places and maintains a 3-feet distance from other people.
The recent Ebola outbreak has killed thousands of people in some West African countries. The Ebola virus has also reached in the U.S. and has affected a number of people. However, only one person has died in the country due to the virus.
Federal health agencies are on their heels to restrict spread of Ebola in the U.S. However, if a possible Ebola suspect has been tested negative, should that person still be quarantined in view of public health concern?
