“We have been in negotiations all day with the state of Maine, and tried to resolve this amicably but 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,” said Hickox from her front porch in Fort Kent, at a press conference on Wednesday evening.

Maine state police followed Hickox on her bike ride with boyfriend Ted Wilbur to monitor her interaction with the public. Norman Siegel, one ofHickox’s attorneys, defended his client’s decision but noted that she avoided the centre of town so as not to “freak people out.”

He added: “Since there’s no court order, she can be out in public. Even if people disagree with her position, I would hope they respect the fact that she’s taking into account the fear, which is based on misinformation about the way the disease is transmitted.”