Friday, October 31, 2014
FORT KENT, Maine (AP) — Maine health officials obtained a 24-hour court order restricting Kaci Hickox’s movement after the nurse repeatedly defied the state’s quarantine for medical workers who have treated Ebola patients.
A judge granted the order Thursday limiting Hickox’s travel, requiring a three-foot buffer if she encounters people, and banning her from public places until there’s a further decision Friday.
The state went to court Thursday, following through with a threat to try to impose restrictions on her until the 21-day incubation period for Ebola ends on Nov. 10. In court documents, the judge indicated further action was anticipated Friday.
Police were under orders to monitor the movements of the nurse who twice left home, once to talk to reporters Wednesday and again for a bike ride with her boyfriend on Thursday.
A state police cruiser remained outside her home Friday. Fort Kent Police Chief Tom Pelletier went inside the home briefly Friday morning and said afterward, “We just had a good conversation.” He said he was not there to arrest or detain her.
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.
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.