Kaci Hickox, the nurse who was quarantined in New Jersey and then ordered to self-monitor in Maine for the Ebola virus, said her life is “back to normal,” after completing a 21-day period with no symptoms.
Doctors Without Borders member Hickox returned from Sierra Leone on October 24, and was involuntarily quarantined at New Jersey’s University Hospital by Gov. Chris Christie. At the time, a slightly feverish Hickox protested that she felt vilified, and was allowed to travel to her Fort Kent, Maine home on October 27. She was ordered to remain inside her house and monitor herself for symptoms, under threat of legal action.
Hickox then defied Maine Gov. Paul LePage, and took a bike ride in her neighborhood, within the three week period she was ordered to stay inside her house. LePage called her “callous,” and untrustworthy. A judge then sided with Hickox, and said she was free to leave her home as she pleased, as long as she kept monitoring for symptoms.
Regarding her quarantine and initial confinement to her house, Hickox commented, “I felt like every day should have been normal. I hope that one day we as an American culture can get over this fear and can learn to show compassion instead, and we can continue to listen to the medical experts about Ebola.”
Nurse who defied Ebola quarantine is now free of monitoring, says we must 'get over this fear' http://t.co/yRnlP3xa94 pic.twitter.com/Rxzs8q7Csd
— NBC News (@NBCNews) November 11, 2014
“I understand that we are still learning what democracy means in this country, and it’s disappointing,” Hickox remarked, adding that LePage had “said a lot of things about me that were just, first of all, untrue, and he doesn’t know me.”
A recent poll conducted in New Jersey revealed that roughly two-thirds of voters agree with Christie’s decision to quarantine Hickox.
Patrick Murray, director of the Monmouth University Polling Institute, commented, “Gov. Christie has made a good read of how uneasy the public is with the seemingly uncertain response from the feds. The Ebola issue has offered him an opportunity to take on the mantle of leadership.”
