Judge lifts quarantine on US Ebola nurse

A United States judge has given nurse Kaci Hickox approval to travel wherever she pleases, dealing a defeat to officials in the US state of Maine who sought to restrict the movement of the nurse, who recently returned from treating Ebola victims in West Africa.

Judge Charles C. LaVerdiere ruled that there is no need to quarantine Hickox because she has no symptoms of Ebola and is therefore not contagious. Hickox must still however continue to monitor her health on a daily basis.

Speaking after the decision, the 33-year-old Hickox called it "a good day" and said that her "thoughts, prayers and gratitude" are with those still fighting Ebola in West Africa.

The decision reverses a temporary order that demanded that Hickox keep a three-foot (one meter) distance from others, and which barred her from entering public places like cinemas, shopping centers or workplaces.

Hickox said her forced isolation in Maine, and earlier in the state of New Jersey upon her arrival back from West Africa, violated her rights. Her quarantine met with outrage from humanitarian groups who warned that automatically isolating medical workers could prevent further volunteers from traveling to West Africa to fight the disease.

LaVerdiere decried what he called misinformation and bad science circulating about the disease.

"The court is fully aware of the misconceptions, misinformation, bad science and bad information being spread from shore to shore in our country with respect to Ebola," he said. "The court is fully aware that people are acting out of fear and that this fear is not entirely rational."

LaVerdiere did however urge Hickox to "demonstrate her full understanding of human nature and the real fear" surrounding the disease, and to "guide herself accordingly." Nine Americans have been infected with Ebola thus far.

Maine Governor Paul LePage said that while he disagreed with the ruling, he will abide by it. Officials have no plans to appeal the decision.

According to the World Health Organization, the Ebola virus has infected more than 13,500 people and killed nearly 5,000, primarily in the nations of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

bw/jm (AP, AFP)