No Deal Made on Ebola Quarantine With Maine Nurse
Authorities in Maine have clarified Thursday afternoon that they have made no deal with the nurse who is refusing to obey her Ebola quarantine.
Nurse Kaci Hickox, who has been ordered to serve a 21-day quarantine period at her home in Maine, gained national media attention on Thursday when she stepped out of her home and went on a bike ride with her boyfriend for an hour.
Hickox had previously been quarantined in Newark, New Jersey, but after she hired an attorney and claimed her "basic human rights" had been violated, she was allowed to complete the quarantine at home.
Hickox has refused to complete the 21-day quarantine no matter the location, saying the orders of Maine and New Jersey are based on fear and not science, as she is not showing any symptoms and doesn't see herself as a threat to society.
On Thursday, Maine Gov. Paul LePage said he and state attorneys would try to reach an agreement with Hickox regarding her quarantine. One suggestion was that state attorneys would seek a state order to have Hickox take a blood test to prove she is not infected with Ebola.
Gov. LePage confirmed that no deal between the state and Hickox had been reached by Thursday afternoon, saying in a statement: "As a result of the failed effort to reach an agreement, the governor will exercise the full extent of his authority allowable by law."
Hickox had previously been treating Ebola patients in Sierra Leone, and was quarantined after authorities at Newark International Airport said she had a fever, although she continues to claim that she has no symptoms of the lethal virus.
