Advertisement

Kaci Hickox won't obey Maine Ebola quarantine, state may go to court

Kaci Hickox says she's not a threat to public health, and has no intention of obeying a 21-day quarantine.

By Gabrielle Levy
A police car drives through the parking lot of University Hospital in Newark NJ on October 27, 2014. Kaci Hickox, a nurse treating Ebola patients in West Africa, was held in a tent inside a wing of the New Jersey medical center since she was taken off a flight and forcibly quarantined in New Jersey after she came home. UPI/John Angelillo
A police car drives through the parking lot of University Hospital in Newark NJ on October 27, 2014. Kaci Hickox, a nurse treating Ebola patients in West Africa, was held in a tent inside a wing of the New Jersey medical center since she was taken off a flight and forcibly quarantined in New Jersey after she came home. UPI/John Angelillo | License Photo

FORT KENT, Maine, Oct. 29 (UPI) -- The nurse who spent three days in an isolation tent after returning from treating Ebola patients in West Africa says she has no intention of obeying a 21-day quarantine now that she's back home in Maine.

Kaci Hickox, who accused New Jersey health officials of treating her "like a criminal" upon her arrival at Newark Airport last Friday, returned to her home in Fort Kent Tuesday night.

Advertisement

Hickox, who has showed no signs of Ebola, agreed to refrain from going out in public, but has hired a lawyer and threatened to take legal action if the state tried to force her to say quarantined.

"You know I truly believe that this policy is not scientifically or constitutionally just," she told NBC's Matt Lauer, via Skype, Wednesday morning. "I am not going to sit around and be bullied by politicians and forced to stay in my home when I am not at risk to the American public."

Advertisement

Maine is one of several states that has begun policies of 21-day quarantines for those who may have been exposed to the Ebola virus, in the face of opposition from the White House and recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Maine Gov. Paul LePage said Wednesday morning the state would look to compel Hickox to obey the quarantine by going to court.

"We are very concerned about her safety and health and that of the community," LePage said in a statement. "We are exploring all of our options for protecting the health and well-being of the health care worker, anyone who comes in contact with her, the Fort Kent community and all of Maine. While we certainly respect the rights of one individual, we must be vigilant in protecting 1.3 million Mainers, as well as anyone who visits our great state."

He did not say how police, several of whom are posted outside Hickox's home, would be directed to respond if she attempts to leave.

"She understands the nature of the disease, she treated it," said Hickox's attorney, Steven Hyman "She understands the nature of the risk."

Ebola, while very contagious, is relatively difficult to catch. It is only spread through contact with the bodily fluid of an infected person who is already showing symptoms.

Advertisement

In an editorial Monday, the New England Journal of Medicine slammed states attempting to impose 21-day quarantines on healthcare workers returning from treating Ebola-stricken patients.

Referring specifically to New Jersey and New York Govs. Chris Christie and Andrew Cuomo, whose quarantine orders have been accused of being politically motivated, the NEJM called such policies "unfair and unwise."

"The governors' action is like driving a carpet tack with a sledgehammer: it gets the job done but overall is more destructive than beneficial," it said.

"An asymptomatic health care worker returning from treating patients with Ebola, even if he or she were infected, would not be contagious," it said. "Furthermore, we now know that fever precedes the contagious stage, allowing workers who are unknowingly infected to identify themselves before they become a threat to their community."

"We should be honoring, not quarantining, health care workers who put their lives at risk not only to save people suffering from Ebola virus disease in West Africa but also to help achieve source control, bringing the world closer to stopping the spread of this killer epidemic."

Latest Headlines