A Maine nurse was told her voluntary quarantine for Ebola monitoring may not be so voluntary after all, after state authorities said they would use “appropriate authority” to keep her away from the public.

Now, Kaci Hickox, who was held in isolation for days in New Jersey after returning to the U.S. from west Africa, said on Wednesday that she had no plans to self-quarantine for the state’s recommended 21-day period.

Maine, however, does not seem ready to budge on the quarantine issue. The state has said it will seek legal authority to enforce the quarantine in a statement released Wednesday morning.

Here’s nurse Kaci Hickox seen smiling at University Hospital during a meeting with her lawyer Norman Siegel. pic.twitter.com/3hkqGd2t0c

— MYLES MILLER (@mylesmill) October 26, 2014

“The healthcare worker who is in Fort Kent has been unwilling to follow the protocols set forth by the Maine CDC and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control for medical workers who have been in contact with Ebola patients,” said Maine Governor Paul LePage. “We hoped that the healthcare worker would voluntarily comply with these protocols, but this individual has stated publicly she will not abide by the protocols.”

On Wednesday morning, a state police vehicle was reportedly parked outside Hickox’s house in Fort Kent, Maine. It’s intentions, however, were unclear.

Gov says state police now parked outside #kacihickox Fort Kent home “both for her protection & health of community.” pic.twitter.com/BVE6iTK2DD

— amy sinclair (@AmyNECN) October 29, 2014

Hickox was first held at a hospital in New Jersey after returning on Friday from Sierra Leone where she was treating Ebola patients with Doctors Without Borders. Hickox was released from the hospital and transported to her home state of Maine on Monday. Hickox told reporters on Wednesday morning that she did not plan to self-quarantine for 21-days and she would not be “bullied by politicians.”

“I remain appalled by these home quarantine policies that have been forced upon me even though I am in perfectly good health and feeling strong,” said Hickox during an appearance on NBC’s Today Show. “I am thankful to be out of the tent in Newark but I have found myself in yet another prison, just in a different environment.”

Despite Hickox testing negative for the Ebola virus and exhibiting no symptoms, Maine Health officials have said they expect her to agree to a voluntary quarantined at her home until 21 days have passed since her last potential exposure to the virus, as this is the standard incubation period. People without symptoms of the Ebola virus are not contagious.

Hickox has vowed to take the state of Maine to court if try to implement a mandatory quarantine order.

During a press briefing on Tuesday, Maine Health Commissioner Mary Mahew outlined new state protocol and said the state would ensure individuals who have had direct contact with Ebola patients make no public contact:

What we are asking for is that individuals who had direct contact with Ebola patients stay in their home and avoid public contact until the 21 days for potential incubation has passed. We acknowledge that this protocol may go slightly beyond the federal guidelines, although the recent changes are very much more in line with Maine’s approach. We have made the determination that out of an abundance of caution, this is a reasonable, common-sense approach to remove additional risk and guard against a public health crisis
in Maine.

If an individual who came in direct contact with Ebola patients has returned to Maine and is not willing to avoid public contact and stay in their home voluntarily during the period they are at some risk, we will take additional measures and pursue appropriate authority to ensure they make no public contact.

While the CDC issued new guidelines for travelers coming to the U.S. from Ebola affected countries, the guidelines do not limit the movement for all health care workers returning from Africa. Some states, including Maine, have adopted stricter regulations.

Hickox has maintained that she did not have a fever upon arrival in Newark and has vowed to take the issue to court if she is required to stay in her home. While held in Newark, she was isolated in a tent outside University Hospital Newark and has been an outspoken critic of the treatment of healthcare workers volunteering in Africa upon their arrival in the U.S. Photos Hickox shared show the tent equipped with a portable toilet.

Quarantined, asymptomatic nurse in NJ sent CNN these photos of her current living quarters. #Ebola pic.twitter.com/ieaZ7DLcKq

— Vaughn Sterling (@vplus) October 26, 2014

Hickox described her arrival experience and initial mandatory isolation in a piece in the Dallas Morning News on Oct. 25.

“I am scared about how health care workers will be treated at airports when they declare that they have been fighting Ebola in West Africa,” wrote Hockox. “I am scared that, like me, they will arrive and see a frenzy of disorganization, fear and, most frightening, quarantine.”

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