Gov. Paul LePage
Kaci Hickox, the nurse who made the bullying Gov. Chris Christie
back down when he imposed an involuntary quarantine on her, has now forced Gov. Paul LePage to back down on his insane quarantine demands. Originally, LePage
insisted on a strict in-home quarantine for the nurse,
saying he would use "the full extent of his authority allowable by law" to keep her in her home. Now LePage has backed down, and given a nod to reality, and the state has now
filed a petition to force Hickox to follow CDC's guidelines. That means Hickox
could leave her home, but would have to avoid close contact with the public. According to the state's filing, a hearing must be in the next 3-10 days, by statute.
But that doesn't mean LePage is going to stop being a total bully. No, as Wonkette discovers, he's inciting the people of Maine to step in.
"Right now, she can come out of the house if she wants, but we can't protect her when she does that. The reason there's a police car there when she does that is to protect her more than anybody. 'Cause the last thing I want is for her to get hurt," he said. "But at the same token, her behavior is really riling a lot of people up, and I can only do what I can do. And we're trying to protect her, but she's not acting as smart as she probably should."
Nice. Meanwhile, Hickox remains perfectly healthy. And there's still just one Ebola patient hospitalized in the U.S. And there are still no friends or family members, or people who were in a plane or a bowling alley or a house with former Ebola patients who have become ill.
8:49 AM PT: The state has obtained a temporary restraining order on Hickox, ordering her to abide by the CDC's restrictions "requiring a three-foot buffer if she encounters people, and banning her from public places until there's a further decision Friday."
11:08 AM PT: And the lifted the quarantine:
FORT KENT, Me. — Less than a day after restricting the movements of a nurse who treated Ebola victims in West Africa, a judge in Maine has lifted the measures, rejecting arguments by the State of Maine that a quarantine was necessary to protect the public. [...]
The order requires Ms. Hickox to submit to daily monitoring for symptoms, to coordinate her travel with state health officials, and to notify them immediately if symptoms appear. Ms. Hickox has agreed to follow the requirements.