MOSCOW, November 1 (RIA Novosti) – A judge in Maine has lifted quarantine restrictions imposed on an American nurse who treated Ebola patients in West Africa, although the isolation regime fully complied with current Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines for people returning from Ebola afflicted regions.
"Nurse Kaci Hickox's challenge of Maine's 21-day isolation regime became a key battle in the dispute between some US states and the federal government," Reuters reported.
The judge has stated that Kaci Hickox should not "be confined to her home," stressing that Ebola fears in the US have been apparently exaggerated and "not entirely rational," the media outlet notes.
"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," Charles LaVerdiere, the chief judge of Maine District Court said in Friday's order, as cited by Reuters.
"The court is fully aware that people are acting out of fear and that this fear is not entirely rational. However, whether that fear is rational or not, it is present and it is real," he added.
Kaci Hickox had returned from Sierra Leone, one of the most seriously afflicted regions in West Africa about a week ago and was forcibly quarantined in Newark, New Jersey, the Guardian narrates. Although she tested negative for Ebola, state officials ordered to keep her in a 21-day quarantine, however, they later backed down, after Kaci Hickox "threatened legal action." The nurse left New Jersey for Maine on Monday, October 27. Predictably, when Hickox arrived in Maine she was placed under a similar 21-day quarantine again, regardless of her protests. Kaci Hickox argued that the restrictions imposed by the government of Maine violated her civil rights and were medically unnecessary, since the deadly virus is contagious only when Ebola patients are symptomatic. The nurse confirmed that she was following the CDC guidelines of monitoring for fever, high temperature and other Ebola symptoms daily.
Tensions between the nurse and state authorities were aggravated on Thursday, October 30 when Kaci Hickox took a one-mile bike ride with her boyfriend, refusing to follow state's orders. Maine's police officers followed the nurse and her boyfriend during the ride.
Although the chief judge has lifted the quarantine regime, the legal issue has not been closed yet: during the hearing scheduled for Tuesday, November 4, state authorities may appeal to reinstate the restrictions. "The legal action is shaping up as the nation's biggest test case yet in the struggle to balance public health and fear of Ebola against personal freedom," the Huffington Post stresses.
Maine Gov. Paul LePage has emphasized in his official statement that his first and foremost duty was to protect the health and safety of the state's citizens.
"My duty to protect the health of the individual, as well as the health and safety of 1.3 million Mainers, is my highest priority. Despite our best effort to work collaboratively with this individual. she has refused to cooperate with us. 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," he said as quoted by Fox News.
Hickox has become the first health care worker who openly has opposed the quarantine regime and movement restrictions, set by the CDC guideline. She hopes to return for her work in West Africa, Reuters notes.
