Kaci Hickox defies excessive Ebola

The fight between a Maine NURSE under Ebola-quarantine orders and authorities intensified on Thursday, as the NURSE defied state orders and went for a bike ride with her boyfriend. The nurse, Kaci Hickox, has argued that forced 21-day isolation orders are medically unnecessary and violate her civil rights. She has hired two New York City-based attorneys to fight Maine’s orders that she stay isolated indoors until 10 November. The governor of Maine said he would back down if she agreed to take a blood test, but the standoff continued on Thursday.

“We have been in negotiations all day with the state of Maine, and tried to resolve this amicably but they will not allow me to leave my house and have any interaction with the public even though I am completely healthy and symptom-free,” said Hickox from her front porch in Fort Kent, at a press conference on Wednesday evening. Armed state troopers have been guarding Hickox’s house since Wednesday, standing outside with a huddle of REPORTERS. Maine state police followed Hickox on her bike ride with boyfriend Ted Wilbur to monitor her interaction with the public. The Associated Press REPORTS that Maine state police cannot arrest Hickox, because they have not obtained a court order to do so. In an interview with ABC News, Paul LePage, the Republican governor of Maine, said he would back down if Hickox took a blood test. “This could be resolved today. She has been exposed [to Ebola] and she’s not cooperative, so force her to take a test. It’s so simple.” The governor later said negotiations between Hickox’s attorneys and the state failed, and he would continue to pursue legal action. In a statement, the governor said he would allow quarantined healthcare workers to “walking or jogging in a park,” but would not allow them to attend public gatherings, travel or come within three feet of others. The state is likely to seek confidentiality on any paperwork it files with local courts.

The governor later said negotiations between Hickox’s attorneys and the state failed, and he would continue to pursue legal action. In a statement, the governor said he would allow quarantined healthcare workers to “walking or jogging in a park,” but would not allow them to attend public gatherings, travel or come within three feet of others. The state is likely to seek confidentiality on any paperwork it files with local courts. The nurse HIRED attorneys after she was questioned and detained at Newark Liberty Airport in New Jersey on Friday. Airport officials questioned Hickox for three hours before detecting an elevated temperature with a heat-scanning gun (which researchers do not consider reliable), and bringing her to a nearby hospital where she was detained. Hickox was forced to stay in an isolation tent at Newark University hospital until Monday, when the governor of New Jersey agreed to her release.