A Maine judge has just rejected the appeal of the local health officials forcing the previously quarantined nurse Kaci Hickox to self-quarantine for 21 days, CNN reports on Friday, October 31.
Charles LaVerdiere, a district court chief judge, ruled in favor of Hickox after the state's health officials failed to provide enough proof of her need to quarantine herself. This is a significant change to the previous order issued on late Thursday, which told Hickox to maintain at least a distance of three feet from people and to avoid riding public transport and crowded places.
However, the court orders Hickox to perform direct active monitoring including taking her temperatures regularly and to work with the health officials if she has plans to travel and if she develops symptoms such as fever.
According to Normal Siegel, her attorney, this ruling is a victory for Hickox who found the supposed imposed quarantine unconstitutional. They believed that the judge had "understanding of what liberty is about."
In his ruling, the judge also expressed his gratitude to the nurse for her aid, care, and compassion.
While her battle against the Maine authorities continues, Hickox was seen biking in the neighborhood with Ted Wilbur, her boyfriend. She expressed that her actions were not to make anyone feel sick or uneasy but to show the state that they are the ones who are unreasonable. She also shared that she's doing this not only for herself but for other health workers in West Africa who may decide to fly back soon.
In an article published in Dallas Morning News, Kaci Hickox, a nurse who served for Doctors without Borders in Sierra Leone, went back to the United States last week, October 24. However, upon arriving in New Jersey's Newark international airport, she was immediately subjected to "disorganized" and "frightening" procedures including putting her in an isolation tent and later in a New Jersey hospital after she registered an elevated temperature, something she attributed to being stressed and exhausted after having to wait for more than 3 hours and not being given proper food.
She has since tested negative of the virus.