A Response to Ebola

Recently, Kaci Hickox, a nurse from New Jersey, returned to the United States after treating those diagnosed with the Ebola virus.  This sounds like a noble thing to do, especially after the virus has started devastating West Africa with very deadly results.  However, her actions are not what are becoming newsworthy; it’s how she’s being limited. 

Upon her return, Hickox was immediately quarantined in a hospital without any human contact.  This started three days ago, and within that span, she has claimed that she hasn’t been treated with passion and humanity.  She’s lashed out at New jersey governor Chris Christie and has gone as far as saying her quarantine is a human rights violation on his behalf, as it was his decision directly to quarantine her.

The big question with this is deciding whether Christie’s actions are appropriate.  The prospect of the Ebola virus spreading in the United States, especially in a more populous region of the country like New England, is indeed scary and something hat absolutely must be prevented considering how easily the virus is transferred from person to person.  It really depends on one’s opinion on whether you agree with Christie and whether Hickox’s temporary freedom or the safety of others takes precedence.

Hickox has argued that considering the fact she hasn’t exhibited any of Ebola’s symptoms and since Governor Christie is not a public health professional that he has no right and no professional knowledge to justify her being put in isolation.  And since actual health professionals agree with her, Christie looks more in the wrong.  The White House has since agreed with Hickox’s statements as well, claiming that Christie doesn’t have the medical authority to make decisions that disagree with the national regulations on handling people diagnosed with Ebola.  

The only thing that does lend credit to Christie’s position is that Ebola virus has been known to lie dormant for a certain time before the person actually starts exhibiting the symptoms.  Therefore, the governor should either justify his actions with a statement or consider letting Hickox out of quarantine.  Of course, thing do change quickly.  If she starts exhibiting symptoms, then people will start praising his decision and national regulations might indeed change.