Nurse prepared to rejoin ‘normal people’ ADVERTISING Nurse prepared to rejoin ‘normal people’ PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — The Maine nurse who defied quarantine attempts after treating Ebola patients in West Africa is looking forward to stepping out her front door
Nurse prepared to rejoin ‘normal people’
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — The Maine nurse who defied quarantine attempts after treating Ebola patients in West Africa is looking forward to stepping out her front door — “like normal people.”
Kaci Hickox’s plans for the end of the deadly disease’s 21-day incubation period include a dinner out with her boyfriend, but she said she’s worried about what type of a reception she’ll get after being hailed by some and vilified by others after battling state-ordered quarantines in New Jersey and Maine.
Most people have been supportive, she said, but others have been hateful. She received a letter from one person who said he hoped she would catch Ebola and die.
“We’re still thankful we’ve had a lot of great support in this community but I’d be lying if I said that it didn’t make me a little bit nervous thinking about people from the other side of the debate and how they might react to me,” she said.
Today will mark the 21st day since Hickox’s last exposure to an Ebola patient, a 10-year-old girl who suffered seizures before dying alone without family.
On Tuesday, Hickox will no longer require daily monitoring for Ebola symptoms, and even those who sought to isolate her agree that she will no longer be a threat.
Hickox she said she doesn’t intend to stop speaking out on behalf of public health workers, nor would she let her experience deter her from returning to West Africa.
“Something like quarantine is not going to scare me from doing the work that I love,” she said from her home in Fort Kent in northern Maine.
Mass. town considers first US tobacco ban
WESTMINSTER, Mass. (AP) — The cartons of Marlboros, cans of Skoal and packs of Swisher Sweets are hard to miss stacked near the entrance of Vincent’s Country Store, but maybe not for much longer: All tobacco products could become contraband if local health officials get their way.
This central Massachusetts town of 7,700 has become an improbable battleground in America’s tobacco wars. On Wednesday, the Board of Health will hear public comment on a proposed regulation that could make Westminster the first municipality in the United States to ban sales of all tobacco products within town lines.
“To my knowledge, it would be the first in the nation to enact a total ban,” said Thomas Carr, director of national policy at the American Lung Association. “We commend the town for doing it.”
Town health agent Elizabeth Swedberg said a ban seemed like a sensible solution to a vexing problem.
“The tobacco companies are really promoting products to hook young people,” she said. “The board was getting frustrated trying to keep up with this.”
Nissan recalls 52,000 vehicles over air bags
NEW YORK (AP) — Nissan announced Saturday that it is recalling more than 52,000 vehicles for passenger air bags that can explode with too much force and send shards of metal into the passenger compartment.
The vehicles have air bag systems made by troubled Japanese supplier Takata Corp. The Nissan recalls are among nearly 8 million others made by 10 automakers, mainly in Southern high-humidity states, over the Takata air bags.
The recall affects the Infiniti FX35 and FX45 from 2003 to 2005, Infiniti I35 from 2003 and 2004 and Infiniti M35 and M45 from 2006. Also affected are Nissan Pathfinders from 2003 and 2004 and Nissan Sentras from 2004 to 2006.
In total, 52,738 vehicles are involved.
The newly recalled vehicles were sold or registered in 12 high-humidity states and territories. The humidity can cause the air bag propellant to burn too fast and potentially blow apart the metal canisters. The problem has been linked to four deaths.
Affected states and territories include Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas and the territories of Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Saipan, Guam and American Samoa.
Takata controls about 22 percent of the global air bag market. The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is investigating whether Takata and automakers that use its air bags acted quickly enough once the defects were suspected.
Nissan announced a small recall of two Infiniti models late last month also tied to Takata-made air bags. That recall affected some 1,800 Infiniti QX56 SUVs from 2013 and the Infiniti QX80 from 2014.
The Tokyo-based Nissan Motor Co. says it will notify owners and replace the air bag inflator for free.
