Judge rejects isolation for U.S. nurse who treated Ebola patients

"The court is fully aware that people are acting out of fear and that this fear is not entirely rational," the judge added, saying Ms. Hickox is "not infectious."

November 01, 2014 09:52 am | Updated November 17, 2021 04:31 am IST - FORT KENT (Maine)

Nurse Kaci Hickox speaks to reporters outside her home, Friday, Oct. 31, 2014, in Fort Kent, Maine.

Nurse Kaci Hickox speaks to reporters outside her home, Friday, Oct. 31, 2014, in Fort Kent, Maine.

A Maine judge ruled on Friday that a U.S. nurse who treated victims of Ebola in West Africa does not need to be confined to her home, declaring Ebola fears in the United States "not entirely rational."

Nurse Kaci Hickox's challenge of Maine's 21-day isolation regime became a key battle in the dispute between some U.S. states and the federal government. A handful of states have imposed mandatory quarantines on health workers returning from three Ebola-ravaged West African countries while the federal government is wary of discouraging potential medical volunteers.

While she may travel freely in public, the judge decided that Ms. Hickox must continue direct monitoring of her health, coordinate travel plans with health officials and report any symptoms.

"I'm happy with the decision the judge made today," Ms. Hickox told reporters via a live video feed from her house in Maine to her lawyer's New York City office. "I think we are on the right track. I think now we're discussing as a nation and individual communities about this disease."

Public concern about the spread of the virus is high in both the United States and Canada. Canada became the second developed nation after Australia to bar entry for citizens from the three West African nations where Ebola is widespread.

Some U.S. politicians have called for a similar travel ban, making Ebola as much of a political issue as a public health question.

The most deadly outbreak of the disease on record has killed nearly 5,000 people, all but a handful of them in Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone.

Only one person in the United States is currently being treated for Ebola, a New York doctor, Craig Spencer, who cared for patients in West Africa.

Maine Governor Paul LePage, a Republican in a tough re-election battle that culminates in Tuesday's elections, said he was disappointed that restrictions confining the nurse to her home were lifted. His office did not respond to questions about whether the governor would appeal the ruling.

The issue is not yet legally closed.

A hearing is scheduled for Tuesday that will give lawyers for the state another opportunity to plead their case for more restrictions on Ms. Hickox before Charles LaVerdiere, the chief judge of Maine District Court.

The court is fully aware of the misconceptions, misinformation, bad science and bad information being spread from shore to shore in our country with respect to Ebola.

In Friday's order, LaVerdiere said, "the court is fully aware of the misconceptions, misinformation, bad science and bad information being spread from shore to shore in our country with respect to Ebola.

"The court is fully aware that people are acting out of fear and that this fear is not entirely rational. However, whether that fear is rational or not, it is present and it is real," the judge added, saying Ms. Hickox is "not infectious."

On Thursday, >the 33-year-old nurse defied the state's quarantine order and went on a bike ride with her boyfriend . Following the ruling, state troopers who had been stationed outside Ms. Hickox's home departed.

Speaking to reporters alongside boyfriend Ted Wilbur outside her two-story clapboard house in the small town of Fort Kent along the Canadian border, Ms. Hickox said she would comply.

"It's just a good day," Ms. Hickox said. "I am taking things minute by minute. Tonight, I am going to try to convince Ted to make me my favorite Japanese meal. And I think we're going to watch scary movies since it's Halloween."

Ms. Hickox tested negative for Ebola after returning from working for Doctors Without Borders in Sierra Leone. She also objected when the state of New Jersey put her into isolation when she arrived at Newark airport.

She said he hoped to be able to return for more work in West Africa. "I love working overseas. It's been a large part of my life since 2006," Ms. Hickox said.

"I know that Ebola is a scary disease. I have seen it face-to-face and I know that we are nowhere near winning this battle," she added.

Medical professionals say Ebola is difficult to catch and is spread through direct contact with bodily fluids from an infected person and is not transmitted by asymptomatic people. Ebola is not airborne.

Public health experts, the United Nations, federal officials and even President Barack Obama have expressed concern that state quarantines for returning doctors and nurses could discourage potential medical volunteers from fighting the outbreak at its source in West Africa.

In New York on Friday, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power defended federal guidelines for monitoring healthcare workers returning from the three Ebola-stricken countries.

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