Ebola: New York quarantine policy eased, lawyer for New Jersey nurse could sue

NEW YORK (KABC) -- New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo eased the guidelines for Ebola quarantine in the state Sunday, while the lawyer for a quarantined nurse in New Jersey plans to sue for her release.

Cuomo said health care workers who have come in contact with Ebola patients will now be quarantined at home and will be monitored twice a day by medical professionals if the workers have no symptoms. The state will also pay for any lost compensation, if they are not paid by a volunteer organization.

This comes after Cuomo and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie on Friday had ordered a 21-day quarantining of medical workers returning from West Africa.

Cuomo had criticized Dr. Craig Spencer, who tested positive for Ebola on Thursday, for not obeying a 21-day voluntary quarantine.

But Sunday, Cuomo called the workers "heroes" and said his administration would encourage more medical workers to continue the fight against the deadly virus.

Meantime, an attorney for nurse Kaci Hickox, who is under a 21-day quarantine after returning from treating Ebola patients in Africa, is planning to file a federal lawsuit for her release.

Hickox said she feels that her "basic human rights are being violated" by being kept in an isolation tent at Universisty Hospital in Newark. Hickox has not showed any symptoms of Ebola.

"Medically speaking there's no reason for the state of New Jersey to keep her quarantined," lawyer Norman Siegel said outside the hospital Sunday night. "She very simply wants to be released. We will advocate for the state of New Jersey and the governor to release her as soon as possible."

Siegel told ABC News that he is planning to file a federal suit to challenging her confinement if he cannot get her released.

ABC News and the Associated Press contributed to this report.