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  • Kaci Hickox: Nurse Says She Won’t Obey Ebola Quarantine in Maine, State Will Fight Her

    Kaci Hickox: Nurse Says She Won’t Obey Ebola Quarantine in Maine, State Will Fight Her

    Kaci Hickox, the nurse who spent three days in an isolation tent after returning from treating Ebola patients in West Africa and has since been returned to her home in Maine, says she has no intention of obeying a 21-day quarantine.

    Hickox was mortified at being treated “like a criminal” upon her arrival at Newark Airport last Friday after treating Ebola patients for four weeks with Doctors Without Borders. She was returned to her home in Fort Kent, Maine, on Tuesday night.

    Hickox, who has showed no signs of Ebola, agreed to remain in her home, but has since hired a lawyer and threatens to take legal action if the state tries to force her to remain in her home.

    “You know I truly believe that this policy is not scientifically or constitutionally just,” she told NBC’s Matt Lauer, via Skype, Wednesday morning. “I am not going to sit around and be bullied by politicians and forced to stay in my home when I am not at risk to the American public.”

    Maine is one of several states that has implemented policies to quarantine those who may have been exposed to the Ebola virus for 21 days. The imposed quarantines go against policy set by the White House and recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

    Maine Gov. Paul LePage said Wednesday morning the state would take steps through the court system to force Hickox to obey the quarantine.

    “We are very concerned about her safety and health and that of the community,” LePage said in a statement. “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, the Fort Kent community and all of Maine. While we certainly respect the rights of one individual, we must be vigilant in protecting 1.3 million Mainers, as well as anyone who visits our great state.”

    It is unclear how police posted outside her home will react if she tries to leave.

    “She understands the nature of the disease, she treated it,” said Hickox’s attorney, Steven Hyman “She understands the nature of the risk.”

  • Ebola: Life After Recovery Is Still Difficult

    The Ebola outbreak in West Africa has killed over 1000 people and it is still spreading.

    In spite of the efforts of volunteers, the virus cannot be contained and although an experimental drug was recently approved by the World Health Organization, there is no known cure for the virus and it has a fatality rate of 90%.

    In spite of the odds, some people do recover, but most of them are shunned and not accepted back into society or even by their own family members.

    Many people living in West Africa have not been educated on infectious diseases and do not believe that someone could recover from such a deadly illness.

    Even though a person may no longer have symptoms or test positive for the disease, many people still think they could pass it to others and prefer to avoid the person to avoid catching it.

    Healthcare workers hoped that the people who managed to recover from the disease would show others that they too can survive Ebola and motivate them to get treatment. Unfortunately, many of the people who have recovered don’t have happy stories to share.

    One 26-year-old woman claims that her own boyfriend won’t even talk to her because she was once infected with Ebola.

    “Ebola has ruined my life even though I am cured,” she said. “No one wants to spend a minute in my company for fear of being contaminated.”

    A 20-year-old man has a similar story and said that he was scared to seek treatment for the deadly disease at first, but is happy that he finally did.

    “When I became sick, I was scared to go to hospital, I hid from my family, from health workers. After four days I couldn’t hide anymore, I was too sick. An Ebola ambulance collected me and took me to the hospital,” he recalled.

    Volunteers are working to educate the people living in West Africa and other areas where the virus has spread. They hope that by educating them on how diseases are spread and how someone can recover from an illness, they will help people be more understanding of those who have been cured and prevent more people from being shunned.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons