A US nurse who recently returned from treating Ebola patients in Africa went for a cycle today, despite a state order to stay at home in quarantine.
Kaci Hickox and her boyfriend rode their bicycles away from their house in the northeastern state of Maine as media looked on, CNN reported.
The couple, who were wearing bicycle helmets and did not speak to reporters, were followed by two police cars.
Controversy is raging about measures taken in some US states, such as New Jersey and New York, to quarantine individuals returning from treating Ebola-infected patients in west Africa.
Ms Hickox was kept in an isolation tent for three days after she returned to the United States from Sierra Leone.
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie let her go on Monday, and she was driven to Maine. However, there the state imposed its own quarantine.
Ms Hickox has vowed to fight the state of Maine, which wants to keep her in quarantine for the 12 days that remain of the virus' 21-day incubation period.
However, Maine said it will seek a court order to keep her at her home if necessary.
"They will not allow me to leave my house and have any interaction with the public, even though I am completely healthy and symptom-free," Ms Hickox said as her boyfriend stood beside her home in the town of Fort Kent yesterday.
Ms Hickox said that if the state does go to court to force her to stay isolated until 10 November, she will file a challenge, NBC News reported.
"I'm not willing to stand here and let my civil rights be violated when it's not science-based," the nurse said.
US President Barack Obama has sought to reassure the public amid the controversy over quarantine measures imposed by some authorities, including the Pentagon.
Speaking at the White House after meeting returned health workers yesterday, Mr Obama said those who volunteer on the front lines should be applauded for their service.
Medical professionals say Ebola is difficult to catch and is spread through direct contact with bodily fluids from an infected person and is not transmitted by asymptomatic people. Ebola is not airborne.
Four people have been diagnosed with Ebola in the United States, with one death, a Liberian man who flew to Texas.
Two of his nurses were infected, but both have recovered and are virus-free.
The only patient now being treated for Ebola in the US is a New York doctor, Craig Spencer, who was diagnosed after treating Ebola patients in Guinea.
