Maine health officials intend to 'pursue legal authority' to impose a voluntary quarantine as a nurse who recently returned from Sierra Leone reportedly expressed plans to dodge the quarantine policy.

Kaci Hickox was recently released from the mandated quarantine in New Jersey after she arrived from Ebola-stricken Sierra Leone where she was helping treat sick people during the outbreak of the virus.

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The 29-year-old nurse, who worked for Doctors Without Borders while she was in Sierra Leone, was taken into isolation by order of New Jersey Governor Chris Christie despite her not showing any symptoms of Ebola.

She was later released from the Newark hospital where she stayed for several days after showing symptoms of a fever, which is one of the indicators of Ebola.

According to Steven Hyman, Hickox's lawyer, she "does not intend to abide by the quarantine imposed by Maine officials because she is not a risk to others."

"She is asymptomatic and under all the protocols cannot be deemed a medical risk of being contagious to anyone," he said adding that Hickox will be following the guidelines for self-monitoring set by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the state of Maine.

Meanwhile, Maine Health and Human Services Department Commissioner Mary Mayhew explained that the state did not want to impose in-home quarantine and is confident that the medical workers will be responsible enough to take steps to prevent further spread of the virus.

However, Mayhew declared that the state is more than prepared to pursue 'legal authority if necessary,' although she did not specifically mention Hickox's case.

According to Maine Gov. Paul LePage, health care workers returning from Ebola-hit countries such as Sierra Leone are required to remain under a 21-day home quarantine and should be actively monitored for symptoms of the disease, citing that the state will make sure that the isolation time could become "as comfortable as possible."

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