MAINE GOVERNOR Threatens to Use “Full Extent of His Authority” After Ebola Nurse Takes Bike Ride

kaci hickox bike

Talks with Ebola nurser Kaci Hickox have failed.
Governor Paul LePage says he now will “exercise the full extent of his authority” regarding the Ebola nurse.

Kaci Hickox went out for a bike ride this morning with her boyfriend.

Ottawa Radio reported:

Negotiations with nurse Kaci Hickox, who refuses to be quarantined after treating Ebola patients in West Africa, have “failed” and the governor of Maine will now “exercise the full extent of his authority,” according to a statement from the governor’s office.

Gov. Paul LePage didn’t say whether that meant getting a court order to enforce Hickox’s quarantine or forcing her to take an Ebola blood test. Earlier on Thursday, LePage indicated to ABC News that he would abandon his demand that Hickox remain under quarantine if she would agree to take a blood test for the lethal virus.

“I was ready and willing — and remain ready and willing — to reasonably address the needs of healthcare workers meeting guidelines to assure the public health is protected,” LePage said.

The governor made his comment after Hickox defiantly challenged demands that she remain quarantined by leaving her home in Fort Kent Thursday morning for a bike ride with her boyfriend. She was trailed by a police car as she rode.

Here’s a copy of Governor’s statement:

Governor Paul R. LePage announced today that negotiations with a healthcare worker who had been quarantined in New Jersey and is now in Fort Kent have failed despite repeated efforts by State officials to work with an individual.

Since the arrival of a healthcare worker to the State of Maine, State health officials have worked diligently and tirelessly to address the safety and needs of the individual healthcare worker and all Mainers.

The Governor’s chief legal counsel together with the Attorney General was in hours of negotiation Wednesday in an attempt to reach agreement on how healthcare workers in Maine should meet the CDC guidelines for those in the “some risk” category. That category includes anyone who has had direct exposure to persons infected with Ebola within a 21-day incubation period. The agreement sought to identify how healthcare workers should conduct themselves, given the threat of exposure to the public, should symptoms develop.

“I was ready and willing—and remain ready and willing—to reasonably address the needs of healthcare workers meeting guidelines to assure the public health is protected,” Governor LePage said.

CDC guidelines outlining what Maine considers an in-home quarantine require:
a. Direct Active Monitoring;
b. Any travel will be coordinated with the public health authorities to ensure uninterrupted direct active monitoring;
c. Controlled movement to include exclusion from long-distance commercial conveyances or local public conveyances;
d. Exclusion from public places and congregate gatherings;
e. Exclusion from workplaces for the duration of a public health order (except to receive necessary healthcare);
f. Non-congregate public activities while maintain a three-foot distance from others is permitted (for example, walking or jogging in a park);
g. Other activities should be assessed as needs and circumstances change to determine whether these activities may be undertaken.

These guidelines would allow an individual in the “some risk” category to go for walks, runs or ride their bicycle, but would prevent such a person from going into public places or coming within three feet of other people in non-congregate gatherings. Unfortunately, an agreement was not reached. The Governor remains willing to enter into such an agreement, on a case-by-case basis, with traveling healthcare workers who meet this definition.

As a result of the failed effort to reach an agreement, the Governor will exercise the full extent of his authority allowable by law.
Maine statutes provide robust authority to the State to use legal measures to address threats to public health.

Public health provisions contained at Title 22 of Maine’s Revised Statutes govern how the State may proceed to control diseases. There are multiple options provided in law. Specifics of the process or steps being taken by the State at this time may not be discussed publicly due to the confidentially requirements in law.

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Jim Hoft is the founder and editor of The Gateway Pundit, one of the top conservative news outlets in America. Jim was awarded the Reed Irvine Accuracy in Media Award in 2013 and is the proud recipient of the Breitbart Award for Excellence in Online Journalism from the Americans for Prosperity Foundation in May 2016. In 2023, The Gateway Pundit received the Most Trusted Print Media Award at the American Liberty Awards.

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