UPDATE: Judge Rules Quarantined Nurse Who Treated Ebola Patients Will Not Be Isolated

A Maine judge ruled today that Kaci Hickcox, a nurse who was quarantined at Newark University Hospital after treating Ebola patients in West Africa, does not need to be quarantined in her home while awaiting an official hearing on the matter.

This ruling negates a temporary order filed by the court on Thursday, which mandated that Hickcox avoid public places, stay within the Fort Kent city limits, and stay three feet away from anyone she encounters upon leaving her home, according to ABC news.

Hickcox was notably the first person isolated at the hospital under New Jersey’s mandatory quarantine policy. She fought successfully against the quarantine, claiming that she was and continues to be asymptomatic, and never tested positive for the virus.

However, Newark Airport officials have stated that Hickcox had a fever at when she landed at Newark Airport, leading to her 21-day quarantine at Newark University Hospital.

On Thursday, Hickcox was spotted riding a bike through town, after being trailed by a police cruiser. Shortly thereafter, Maine Governor Paul LePage told CNN that negotiations with Hickcox over where she could travel came to a grinding halt.

Maine officials have reportedly asked the nurse, who worked with patients in Sierra Leone, to remain at home until Nov. 10, after the Ebola virus’s incubation period has passed.

So far, Maine Governor Paul LePage has failed to find a legal way to isolate the Nurse from the public. Without a court order, Hickcox can legally ride a bike through her town, or leave her house at will, according to CNN senior legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin.

“I don’t want her within three feet of anybody,” Governor LePage told CNN affiliate WCSH.

The new court order filed today in Augusta orders Hickcox to agree to regular health monitoring. Until her hearing, the nurse must also coordinate her travel with health authorities and immediately report any symptoms to public health officials, ABC News reports.

The nurse has stated that her now infamous bike ride this week was a protest against her isolation, adding that she is willing to avoid public transportation and agrees to travel restrictions.

“You can take a bike ride, be in the public and not actually interact with people,” Hickcox’s lawyer Norm Siegel said. “We thought this was a good way to exercise her right. We didn’t want anyone in the town to be scared, even though the fear is based in misinformation.”

More health care workers returning to the US through Newark Airport could be subject to the same quarantine protocol enacted by Governor Christie and New York Governor Cuomo.

“The protocol is clear that a New Jersey resident with no symptoms, but who has come into contact with someone with Ebola, such as a health care provider, would be subject to a mandatory quarantine order and quarantined at home,” Kevin Roberts, a spokesman for Governor Christie said. “Non-residents would be transported to their homes if feasible and, if not, quarantined in New Jersey.”

“I’m fighting for something much more than myself,” Hickcox told CNN. “There are so many aid workers coming back. It scares me to think how they’re going to be treated and how they’re going to feel.”