Quarantined Ebola nurse goes outside; police watch

A nurse who treated Ebola patients in West Africa said she plans to end her voluntary quarantine and even stepped outside her home briefly on today.

Kaci Hickox's words and actions signaled a potential showdown with state police monitoring her home and state officials seeking to legally enforce the quarantine.

Police stood across the street and watched as Hickox held an impromptu press conference outside with her boyfriend.

State officials are seeking a court order allowing state troopers to detain Hickox, said Department of Health and Human Services Commissioner Mary Mayhew.

Hickox, who has shown no symptoms of Ebola, told NBC's "Today" show and ABC's "Good Morning America" she was abiding by the state's voluntary quarantine by having no contact with people Tuesday and yesterday. But she said she'll defy the state if the policy isn't changed by today.

"I remain appalled by these home quarantine policies that have been forced upon me even though I am in perfectly good health," Hickox said on "Today."

Her lawyer Norman Siegel said she isn't willing to cooperate further unless the state lifts "all or most of the restrictions."

But state officials continued to assert that she should remain in isolation until Nov 10, the end of the 21-day incubation period for Ebola.

A judge would have to grant the state's request in what could serve as a test as to the legality of state quarantines during the Ebola scare.

Until an order is signed by a judge, state police will monitor Hickox's movement and interactions if she leaves her home, Mayhew said.

Generally, states have broad authority when it comes to such matters. But Maine health officials could have a tough time convincing a judge that Hickox poses a threat, said attorney Jackie L Caynon III, who specializes in health law in Worcester, Massachusetts.

"If somebody isn't showing signs of the infection, then it's kind of hard to say someone should be under mandatory quarantine," he said.

Ebola, which is spread through direct contact with the bodily fluids of an infected person, has killed thousands of people in Africa, but only four people have been diagnosed with it in the United States.

People can't be infected just by being near someone who's sick, and people aren't contagious unless they're sick, health officials say.