Ebola: We are not trying to push limits’

Hickox’s boyfriend says the Ebola nurse is not trying to push limits or get anyone sick

THE boyfriend of an Ebola nurse refusing to be quarantined insists she is not trying to get anyone sick or push any limits.Kaci Hickox, who treated Ebola patients in Sierra Leone, and her boyfriend, Ted Wilbur, purposefully rode their bikes away from town on a dirt path to avoid coming into contact with people.

“We’re not trying to push any limits here. We’re members of this community, too, and we want to make people comfortable,” he told reporters.
Ms Hickox, who returned to the US last week, has been under what Maine is calling a voluntary quarantine at her home in this town of 4300 people.
She has rebelled against the restrictions, saying that her rights are being violated and that she is no threat to others because she has no symptoms. She tested negative last weekend for Ebola, though it can take days for the virus to reach detectable levels.
State officials said that they were seeking a court order to require a quarantine through November 10, the end of the 21-day incubation period for the Ebola virus.
But it was unclear whether the state had gone to court or whether there had been any progress in negotiations aimed at a compromise.
Fort Kent Police Chief Tom Pelletier went inside the home briefly and said afterwards, “We just had a good conversation.” He said he was not there to arrest or detain Ms Hickox.
Governor Paul LePage said state attorneys and Ms Hickox’s lawyers had discussed a scaled-down quarantine that would have allowed her to go for walks, runs and bicycle rides while preventing her from venturing into populated public places or coming within a metre of others.
“I was ready and willing — and remain ready and willing — to reasonably address the needs of health care workers meeting guidelines to assure the public health is protected,” he said.