VICTORY FOR MAINE NURSE AS JUDGE MAKES U-TURN ON EBOLA MONITORING ORDER (STA BREAKING NEWS and ARCHIVES)

by STANews , Friday, October 31, 2014, 15:12

Kaci Hickox walks outside of her home to give a statement to the media in Fort Kent, Maine. Photograph: Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Maine suffered defeat in its attempts to restrict the movements of a nurse who returned to the state after working with Ebola patients in west Africa, when a judge reversed an earlier ruling.

A Maine judge on Friday ruled that Kaci Hickox must comply with monitoring for Ebola symptoms, but lifted an order that she stay away from public gatherings and maintain a 3ft distance from others, though those requirements had complied with current Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines for people in a situation like hers.

“[Maine] has not met its burden at this time to prove by clear and convincing evidence that limiting [Hickox’s] movements to the degree requested is ‘necessary to protect other individuals from the dangers of infection’,” chief district court judge Charles C LaVerdiere wrote in an order posted on Friday afternoon. “[Hickox] currently does not show any symptoms of Ebola and is therefore not infectious.”

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http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2014/oct/31/maine-nurse-ebola-guidelines-judge-lifts-order