The nurse who was quarantined after returning from treating Ebola patients in West Africa has given the State of Maine until Thursday to let her move freely, setting up what could be a test case of whether state quarantines are legal.
The nurse, Kaci Hickox, 33, who was confined first by New Jersey when she came back to the United States and then by Maine, did a blitz on morning television challenging her confinement by Maine officials.
“I remain really concerned by these mandatory quarantine policies,” she told ABC News via Skype from Maine on Wednesday morning. “I think we are only adding to stigmatization that again is not based on science or evidence.”
If the state does not lift her quarantine order by Thursday morning, she said, “I will go to court to attain my freedom.”
Maine’s governor, Paul R. LePage, said Wednesday that he was working with state health officials “to seek legal authority to enforce the quarantine.”
“We hoped that the health care worker would voluntarily comply with these protocols, but this individual has stated publicly she will not abide by the protocols,” Mr. LePage said in a statement. “We are very concerned about her safety and health and that of the community. We are exploring all of our options for protecting the health and well-being of the health care worker, anyone who comes in contact with her.”
Ms. Hickox said that she had been monitoring her health by taking her temperature twice a day.
The governor has posted the Maine State Police outside the residence in Fort Kent where the nurse is staying, he said in his statement, “both for both her protection and the health of the community.”
One of Ms. Hickox’s lawyers, Steve Hyman, told ABC News he did not believe the state had legal authority to confine his client. “The standard is,” he said, “does Kaci have an infection disease or agent? Does she harbor an infection? The answer is no.”
He said: “There is no medical science that says she should be quarantined. None.”
Norman Siegel, a prominent civil rights lawyer who also representing Ms. Hickox, said on the “Today” show on NBC that they would fight the issue in court if Maine officials attempted to enforce a quarantine. He said the state had no justification to do so.