A Maine
judge gave nurse Kaci Hickox the OK to go wherever she pleases, handing
state officials a defeat on Friday in their bid to restrict her
movements as a precaution against Ebola.
Judge
Charles C. LaVerdiere ruled Hickox must continue daily monitoring and
cooperate with health officials if she chooses to travel.
The
judge said there's no need to restrict her movements because she's not
showing symptoms of Ebola. In his ruling, LaVerdiere thanked Hickox for
her service in Africa and wrote that 'people are acting out of fear and
that this fear is not entirely rational'.
It
was also claimed today, the 33-year-old nurse's roommate in Sierra
Leone had been treated for Ebola but the court reportedly said that any
risk had passed.
Fox reported the detail on Miss Hickox's roommate following the court ruling.
According
to the affidavit, a CDC official in Maine said: 'The Respondent's
roommate in Africa became infected without knowing how she became
infected with Ebola.'
At
a press conference outside her home on Friday, Miss Hickox said the
information that her roommate had Ebola was inaccurate but did not offer
any more details.
She said: 'I am humbled today by the judge's decision and even more humbled fro the support we have received.
'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 fight.
She
continued: 'To my fellow healthcare workers in West Africa, both
national and international staff risking their lives to fight this
disease my thoughts, prayers and gratitude remain with you. As a global
community we can end Ebola.'
She
told reporters that at the moment she had no plans to go into Fort Kent
because she did not want to make anyone uncomfortable.
She said: 'I'm going to have Ted make my favorite Japanese meal and watch a scary movie since it is Halloween.'
Maine Governor Paul LePage disagreed with the judge's decision, but said the state will follow the law.
'As
governor, I have done everything I can to protect the health and safety
of Mainers. The judge has eased restrictions with this ruling and I
believe it is unfortunate. However, the State will abide by law,' LePage
said.
The Governor had said on Thursday that he did not want any Maine citizen 'within three feet' of Miss Hickox.
With the judge's ruling, a state police cruiser parked outside her home drove away.
Nurse Kaci Hickox, right, and her
boyfriend, Ted Wilbur, take delivery of a pizza at their home in Fort
Kent, Maine on Thursday. A judge said on Friday that there's no need to
restrict her movements because she's not showing symptoms of Ebola
Reporters keep watch across from nurse
Kaci Hickox's house today in Fort Kent, Maine after she said that she
would defy any quarantine placed on her for Ebola
Nurse Kaci Hickox leaves her home on a
rural road in Fort Kent, Maine, to take a bike ride with her boyfriend
Ted Wilbur on Thursday. The couple went on an hour-long ride followed
by a Maine State Trooper
The
state went to court Thursday to impose restrictions on Hickox until the
21-day incubation period for Ebola ends on November 10. Hickox, who
treated Ebola patients in Sierra Leone, contended confinement at her
home in northern Maine violated her rights.
The
judge thanked Hickox for her service in Africa and acknowledged the
gravity of restricting someone's constitutional rights without solid
science to back it up.
'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,' he wrote.
'The court is fully aware that people are acting out of fear and that this fear is not entirely rational.'
Hickox,
33, stepped into the media glare when she returned from treating Ebola
patients in Sierra Leone to become subject to a mandatory quarantine in
New Jersey.
After
being released from a hospital there, she returned to this small town,
where she was placed under what Maine authorities called a voluntary
quarantine.
She
said she is following the federal Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention recommendation of daily monitoring for fever and other signs
of the disease.
A worker from the Centers for Disease
Control leaves the home of nurse Kaci Hickox after a brief visit, on
Thursday to monitor her for symptoms of the virus
Fort Kent Police Chief Thomas Pelletier leaves the home of nurse Kaci Hickox after a brief visit on Friday
'I'm not willing to stand here and let my civil rights be violated when it's not science-based,' she said earlier in the week.
In
a court filing, the director of the Maine Center for Disease Control
and Prevention backed away from the state's original request for an
in-home quarantine and called for restrictions that fall in line with
federal guidelines.
Hickox remains at risk of being infected with Ebola until the end of a 21-day incubation period, Dr. Sheila Pinette.
'It
is my opinion that the respondent should be subjected to an appropriate
public health order for mandatory direct active monitoring and
restrictions on movement as soon as possible and until the end of the
incubation period ... to protect the public health and safety,' she
wrote.
Nurse Kaci Hickox, right, and her
boyfriend, Ted Wilbur are followed by a Maine State Trooper as they ride
bikes on a trail near their home in Fort Kent, Maine on Thursday
No comments:
Post a Comment