Kaci Hickox went on a bike ride today, hours after saying she's going to fight the stigma on medical professionals who've treated Ebola patients and not let politicians bully her. With a showdown looming over her potential forced quarantine in Maine, the nurse emerged from her home to speak to reporters last night, shaking the hand of one as police looked on, the AP reports. Then, the AP adds, she left home with her boyfriend to go on the ride this morning, as police followed, unable to stop her without a court order making her quarantine mandatory. If such an order comes, "then I will challenge those legal actions," she tells NBC. "I'm not willing to stand here and let my civil rights be violated when it's not science-based." Her lawyer says the "ball is now in the court of Maine" and "if there is any attempt to physically apprehend her" when she leaves her home, "we will fight for her freedom." More:
- Her case is a "tipping point" in the debate over how health care workers and others returning from West Africa are treated, Hickox tells the New York Times. "So many states have started enacting these policies that I think are just completely not evidence-based," she says. "They don't do a good job of balancing the risks and benefits when thinking about taking away an individual's rights."