Maine Nurse Defies Quarantine Order

Oct. 30--Kaci Hickox, the self-proclaimed face of resistance to state quarantine rules directed at returning healthcare workers who treated Ebola patients in Africa, went for a bike ride Thursday morning, the first lap in what is expected to be a day of legal and political sparring over public health and politics.

Hickox and her boyfriend, Ted Wilbur, pedaled off on their bicycles on a sunny morning in Fort Kent, Maine. She returned after about an hour.

"I hope that we can continue negotiations and work this out amicably," Hickox told reporters in nationally broadcast comments. "There is no legal action against me, so I'm free to go on a bike ride in my hometown."

Hickox's gesture was aimed at Maine, whose leaders have pledged to enforce a state quarantine.

State officials did not return calls Thursday morning about what their next step will be. On Wednesday, officials said they would seek a court order on Thursday to enforce her quarantine.

Hickox has pledged to fight any state action on civil liberties grounds.

"I'm not willing to stand here and let my civil rights be violated when it's not science-based," Hickox told reporters on Wednesday night when she left her home. A state trooper stood by as she talked to reporters, even offering to shake hands with the journalists to prove she did not represent a danger.

Hickox returned from West Africa last week where she was part of a medical team from Doctors Without Borders. She treated Ebola patients in the region where about 5,000 people have reportedly died from the virus.

On arrival, Hickox was kept in an isolation tent for three days on orders from New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who acted with the support of New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo. The governors jointly deal with the airports and related policies.

The pair imposed tougher requirements on returning healthcare workers than the guidelines suggested by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, arguing that the additional measures were needed as a precaution against the spread of the virus despite the scientific consensus that a person who lacks symptoms is not contagious.

Top federal medical officials, politicians, including President Obama, and civil libertarians have argued that the virus cannot be spread by anyone who is asymptomatic.

There is a dispute over whether Hickox ever displayed a fever and her Ebola tests have been negative.

On Monday, Hickox was driven to her Fort Kent home, where Maine imposed its own quarantine. Like Christie, Maine Gov. Paul LePage cited public health concerns for insisting that Hickox stay isolated and pledged court action if she defied quarantine.

"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," LePage said.

LePage is in a three-way race to be re-elected with polls showing him running neck-in-neck against Democrat Michael H. Michaud, a six-term congressman and former president of the state Senate. The third candidate is Eliot Cutler, an independent. Cutler, a wealthy businessman, ran against LePage in 2010 and nearly beat him, with 36% of the vote.

Cutler is not running that well this time around, but is still considered a wild card.

Obama has been vocal in recent days opposing overly restrictive state measures on returning healthcare workers, arguing the rules will discourage needed medical personnel from volunteering to go to West Africa, the front line in the battle against Ebola.

Obama is scheduled to campaign for Democrat Michaud later Thursday, according to the White House.

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