A nurse in New jersey who was forcefully quarantined after treating Ebola patients in West Africa said she'll not obey officials instructions to isolate herself at home in Maine, she and her lawyers said.
Kaci Hickox returned to Maine on Monday after she was released by authorities in New Jersey from a hospital tent where state officials kept her over the weekend as part of a new quarantine policy. She hired a lawyer and spoke out about her isolation and was then transported to Maine.
Maine officials have said that they would ask Hickox to quarantine herself at home until the passage of 21 days from her last possible contact with an Ebola patient, adding that they would make it involuntary if she resisted.
While asked by Matt Lauer, the 'today' show host, if she planned to follow guidelines and finish that quarantine on November 10, she said: "I don't plan on sticking to the guidelines,". "I remain appalled by these home quarantine policies that have been forced upon me."
Maine Governor, Paul Le Page, has said the state would work with Hickox on a plan to isolate her for the 21-day period.
One of Hickox's lawyers, Norm Siegel, told Lauer that officials had until Thursday to adjust their approach, and if they tried to physically apprehend Hickox once she stops obeying the quarantine, her legal team would take the matter to court.
On Tuesday, the state's health commissioner without naming Hickox warned that the state would force the quarantine if she didn't isolate herself willingly.
"If an individual who came in direct contact with Ebola patients has returned to Maine and is not willing to escape public contact and stay in their home voluntarily during the period they are at some risk, we will take additional measures and pursue appropriate authority to ensure they make no public contact," Maine Department of Health and Human Services Commissioner Mary Mayhew told reporters Tuesday.