FORT KENT, Maine — The state of Maine has filed a temporary petition to require nurse Kaci Hickox to avoid public places and submit to regular health monitoring.
The petition, filed in district court in Fort Kent and signed by a judge Thursday, temporarily bans Hickox from public transportation and public places, such as shopping malls and movie theaters. She must not leave Fort Kent without consulting public health authorities and must remain at least 3 feet away from other people when outside her home. Hickox also must continue to submit to monitoring and visits by public health officials.
The restrictions follow U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines for individuals deemed at “some risk” of exposure to Ebola who show no symptoms of illness. That category includes anyone who has had direct exposure to those infected with the virus within a 21-day incubation period. The federal guidelines do not call for isolation.
Hickox, who treated Ebola patients in Sierra Leone, has no symptoms of the virus.
The temporary petition, first published by MPBN, makes no mention of a quarantine. The temporary measure will restrict Hickox’s movements until a hearing is convened to determine whether a permanent court order should be issued.
Under Maine law, a hearing must be held on the petition within three to 10 days.
It remains unclear where negotiations between Hickox and the state broke down. She indicated she did not plan to comply after Thursday with some of the measures the state sought, Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Sheila Pinette told the court, according to the documents. Pinette did not specify which measures Hickox planned to refuse.
The documents also shed light on Hickox’s movements after leaving New Jersey, where she was quarantined against her will after flying into Newark on Oct. 24. Maine public health officials contacted Hickox while she was en route to Maine, but she declined to call Pinette, according to the documents. In an email to public health authorities, Hickox said she planned to spend “a night or two” in Freeport before continuing her travels to her home in Fort Kent. Hickox changed her mind and traveled home before completing an agreement with Maine CDC, the documents state.