Defying quarantine...

Okay. Kaci Hickox refuses to remain under quarantine in Maine, even though she recently returned from treating Ebola patients in Sierra Leone. If any of us were in her place, would we refuse to be quarantined? Personally, I'd agree to be quarantined. What about you???

Jabber, its an interesting question. The Washington Post has done a good job of covering the story. Here's one of their articles.

Clearly she did treat patients and it would seem that some caution is due, given that the Hippocratic Oath states, "First, do no harm."

I like to think that if I were her I would have agreed to self quarantine. But I do believe that she's not contagious unless and until symptoms appear, and since she IS taking her temp 2x a day, she would know to take appropriate steps should the fever develop. Like that doc in NYC did.

But now we're dealing with fear and hysteria. People are staying away from her favorite restaurant in Maine, even though she is not even there... That's just feeding the fear, IMHO.

I agree with everything you've said, Anne. But it seems that fear and caution may be justified with an illness that's killed thousands of people. I can understand all sides of the issue. And nobody knows how they'd react to any given situation until they're actually faced with it. Guess it's a waiting game right now.

Unreasonable fear is being stoked by some politicians, pastors, and news people who have no clue about Ebola and how it is spread. I don't see any reason for her to be confined to her house for 21 days as long as she has no symptoms. Just because she's been exposed does not mean she will contract the illness. I'm seeing fear and hysteria that are totally unnecessary at this point. Kids have been kicked out of school, West African businesses are being vandalized, and West African people are being harassed by ignorant people. There's no reason for any of it except fear.