Maine Ebola nurse and staunch Obama supporter Kaci Hickox is now refusing to place herself under voluntary temporary quarantine to make sure she is free of the Ebola virus, her lawyer says.
Last Friday New Jersey Governor Chris Christie announced that healthcare workers who had cared for Ebola victims would have to undergo a 21-day quarantine to make sure they are free of the disease before going about their lives in public. The first healthcare worker Christie confined under the order was Hickox who instantly became the face of purportedly “oppressed” healthcare workers.
But only some 72 hours after he made his announcement of the mandatory quarantine policy, Gov. Christie backed down in the face of criticism from the White House. By Monday, Christie reversed himself and announced that Hickox was free to go.
Officials did, however, recommend that the nurse voluntarily confine herself to her home in Maine until doctors could be sure she was 100 percent free of the disease. Hickox, however, is now refusing to comply with the voluntary quarantine in her state, even after being released from New Jersey.
But now, through her lawyer, Hickox is saying she won’t agree to be confined to her residence beyond two days.
Hickox has complained that her “basic human rights have been violated” by officials that are simply trying to make sure that she isn’t infectious and dangerous to everyone with whom she comes in contact.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter: @warnerthuston. Email the author at igcolonel@hotmail.com.