U.S. ‘Ebola’ nurse defies quarantine and takes a bike ride

A U.S. nurse recently returned from West Africa has defied quarantine by going on a bike ride with her boyfriend. Kaci Hickox, who gave a statement to reporters on Wednesday night, followed through on her threat to leave her Fort Kent home. Police followed the couple but were unable to stop them without a court order signed by a judge. Ms Hickox, 33, insists there is no need for confinement because she has shown no symptoms and has twice tested negative for Ebola. She had vowed to go to court over attempts to keep her in seclusion, but Maine’s governor said officials would pursue legal authority to do just that.

I am not going to sit around and be bullied around by politicians and be forced to stay in my home when I am not a risk to the American public.

Nurse Kaci Hickox

State officials say Ms Hickox should be detained for the remainder of the 21-day incubation period for Ebola that ends on 10 November. Ms Hickox was the first person forced into New Jersey’s mandatory quarantine after arriving at Newark airport following her work in Sierra Leone for Doctors Without Borders. She was then taken to Maine under supervised conditions. Police have been monitoring her movements at the Fort Kent property of her boyfriend, where she has been staying. Speaking on Wednesday night outside the home of her boyfriend, who is a senior nursing student, she said: “I’m completely healthy and symptom-free.”

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

Maine governor, Paul LePage

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