FORT KENT, Maine — In a victory for a nurse who treated Ebola patients in West Africa, a judge in Maine on Friday rejected arguments by the state that her movements should be firmly restricted, praising her "compassion" even as he acknowledged the public's fears about the virus.
The order by Judge Charles LaVerdiere, chief judge for the Maine District Courts, requires the nurse, Kaci Hickox, to submit to daily monitoring for symptoms, to coordinate her travel with public health officials and to notify them immediately if symptoms appear. But the judge rejected tighter restrictions because Hickox "currently does not show symptoms of Ebola and is therefore not infectious."
"We need to remember as we go through this matter," he wrote, "that we owe her and all professionals who give of themselves in this way a debt of gratitude."
The order seemed likely to end the three-day standoff between Hickox and Maine, and lawyers said it could influence courts in other states where health care workers returning from West Africa face quarantines or travel restrictions. Hickox has said that automatic quarantines will discourage health care workers from traveling to Ebola-stricken countries, while Maine and other states contend that such restrictions are necessary to protect public health.
"This decision isn't binding on other states, but it will certainly influence them," said Steven Hyman, one of Hickox's lawyers. "The judge made a reasonable decision."
In a statement, Gov. Paul LePage, who had pushed for restricting Hickox's movements during the virus' 21-day incubation period, called the decision "unfortunate" but said the state "will abide by the law."
"My duty to protect the health of the individual, as well as the health and safety of 1.3 million Mainers, is my highest priority," said LePage, a Republican in a tight re-election race. "Despite our best effort to work collaboratively with this individual, she has refused to cooperate with us."
Hickox, 33, returned Oct. 24 from a month treating Ebola patients in Sierra Leone and was isolated in a tent at a New Jersey hospital after she registered a low-grade fever on a forehead scanner, though she had not previously registered a fever and has not since. She was allowed to come to Maine on Monday and has been staying in Fort Kent, an outpost of 4,000 on the Canadian border, with her boyfriend, Ted Wilbur.