Nurse Kaci Hickox, whose forced quarantine in New Jersey
created a massive headache for a bumbling Gov. Chris Christie, is taking her fight for science to Maine. Republican Gov. Paul LePage is apparently catering to the worst fears exhibited by some of their residents (the
school board who forced a teacher to go on leave just because she had traveled to Dallas, the
university that wants to keep Hickox's boyfriend—a nursing student—from attending his classes) and is
threatening to somehow force Hickox into home quarantine with "legal authority" and
will take "appropriate action" if she doesn't comply.
On the Today Show Wednesday morning, Hickox once again made perfect sense and vowed to fight LePage as she fought Christie.
"I don't plan on sticking to the guidelines. I remain appalled by these home quarantine policies that have been forced upon me, even though I am in perfectly good health and feeling strong and have been this entire time completely symptom free," said Hickox, who wouldn’t emerge from Maine's 21-day voluntary quarantine until Nov. 10.
"I truly believe this policy is not scientifically nor constitutionally just, and so I'm not going to sit around and be bullied around by politicians and be forced to stay in my home when I am not a risk to the American public." […]
"If the restrictions placed on me by the state of Maine are not lifted by Thursday morning, I will go to court to fight for my freedom."
Hickox said that she is self-monitoring and is following the guidelines of Doctors without Borders, the organization she volunteered with in Africa, the organization that has been at the forefront in fighting this disease for years. Hickox also pointed out that top health officials stress that quarantine is only necessary for people who have developed symptoms of the disease, which she has not, and stressed that policies need to be based on evidence and sound public health policies as opposed to politics.
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Hickox is smart, well-spoken, and determined to teach politicians a direct lesson about science and about public health. She's a strong voice of reason in the midst of Republican-induced Ebola panic, and has already made a fool of Christie. LePage should think twice before taking her on.