Dive Brief:
- Kaci Hickox, the nurse from Maine who previously treated patients with Ebola in West Africa, is planning to fight the 21-day home-based quarantine imposed by Gov. Paul LePage. Hickox made the announcement at a brief press conference on Wednesday outside of her boyfriend's home, where she has been staying since her return.
- The Department of Health and Human Services is monitoring Hickox through police surveillance and will continue to do so if she leaves her home during the quarantine time frame. Without a court order, which the department does not have, the nurse cannot be forced to stay in her home. Hickox said she plans to pursue legal action if forced to remain in quarantine.
- The 33-year-old nurse was held in an isolation tent in New Jersey for three days after arriving in the United States from her work with Doctors Without Borders. It has been reported that Hickox and her boyfriend both agreed to voluntary 21-day quarantines, which they both deny, according to KGW.com.
Dive Insight:
Public officials are clearly being challenged with weighing the rights of individuals against the public's health. Hickox isolation is a reaction to the recent infection of Craig Spencer, a physician from New York City, who stayed home from work but rode a subway, went bowling and spent other time in public just days before being diagnosed with Ebola. If officials can't rely on self-reporting or isolation, some, like LePage and Chris Christie, who originally quarantined Hickox in the tent, are erring on the side of caution.
"We hoped that the healthcare worker would voluntarily comply with these protocols, but this individual has stated publicly she will not abide by the protocols," LePage said in a statement regarding Hickox. The nurse told Matt Lauer on the Today Show, "I don't plan on sticking to the guidelines. I am not going to sit around and be bullied by politicians and forced to stay in my home when I am not a risk to the American public."
Hickox has shown no symptoms, and on Thursday morning went for a bike ride with her boyfriend, followed by a police escort and the press, the New York Times reports.