Ebola panic in the US seems to have subsided considerably. There have been no new cases for about three weeks and with the election over there is less politics fueling the issue. Kaci Hickox, the nurse who stood up to the politicians wanting to lock her up will reach the end of the 21 day period since her last contact with an ebola patient tomorrow. She reached a negotiated arrangement with the authorities in Maine and has stayed away from places that would put her in public contact.
Ebola nurse happy to live 'like normal people' again as quarantine comes to an end
Hickox said she doesn’t intend to stop speaking out on behalf of public health workers, nor would she let her experience deter her from returning to west Africa.
“Something like quarantine is not going to scare me from doing the work that I love,” she said from her home in Fort Kent, in northernmost Maine. “I would return to Sierra Leone in a heartbeat.”
It was after three hours of questioning at the Newark Liberty International Airport that she resolved that she’d have to make a stand on behalf of all returning healthcare workers.
“I said I’m going to have to do something about this because I can’t possibly let my colleagues go through this. This is completely unacceptable,” she said.
Hickox was sequestered in a medical tent for days because New Jersey announced new Ebola regulations the day she arrived.
Hickox said she doesn’t intend to step away from the debate over the treatment of healthcare workers, even after the 21-day mark passes at 11.59pm on Monday.
For now, though, she’s considering her options as she looks for work. Her boyfriend, Ted Wilbur, contends he was told to stay away from the University of Maine at Fort Kent while she was in the news. He formally withdrew from the school on Friday.
The couple said they would likely be leaving town soon.
It seems unlikely that as long as the epidemic is raging in West Africa that the rest of the world can completely dodge it. Nobody can be sure just what the future holds for the US. Kaci Hickox is one of the really bright spots that have emerged from a generally dismal and depressing story. Her combination of intelligence, commitment and guts is a rare and valuable asset. I wish her the very best in whatever endeavors she decides to tackle.