Via The New York Times: Judge in Maine Eases Restrictions on Nurse. Excerpt:
FORT KENT, Me. — In a victory for a nurse who treated Ebola patients in West Africa, a judge in Maine on Friday rejected arguments by the state that her movements should be firmly restricted, praising her “compassion” even as he acknowledged the public’s fears about the virus.
The order by Judge Charles C. LaVerdiere, the chief judge for the Maine District Courts, requires the nurse, Kaci Hickox, to submit to daily monitoring for symptoms, to coordinate her travel with public health officials and to notify them immediately if symptoms appear.
But the judge rejected tighter restrictions because Ms. Hickox “currently does not show symptoms of Ebola and is therefore not infectious.”
“We need to remember as we go through this matter,” the judge wrote, “that we owe her and all professionals who give of themselves in this way a debt of gratitude.”
The order seemed likely to end the three-day standoff between Ms. Hickox and Maine, and lawyers said it could influence courts in other states where health care workers returning from West Africa face quarantines or travel restrictions.
Ms. Hickox has asserted that automatic quarantines will discourage health care workers from traveling to Ebola-stricken countries, while Maine and other states contend that such restrictions are necessary to protect public health.
And that is why the US in its best moments is a truly great power: when its legislators or executives succumb to the folie du jour, the judicial branch will bring them to their senses.
