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Gov. Chris Christie defended a recent decision to place people traveling from West Africa under mandatory quarantine.

(Robert Sciarrino)

AKRON, Iowa — Gov. Chris Christie today defended his decision to place people traveling from West Africa under mandatory quarantine, a few hours after the first person kept under the new rule tested negative for the deadly virus.

The governor, speaking to reporters along the Republican Governor Association campaign trail in Iowa, stood by his Friday announcement with New York Gov. Andrew Gov. to quarantine some travelers reentering the country, while expressing regret that an unidentified nurse quarantined was inconvenienced.

“My first and foremost obligation is to protect the public health and safety of the people of New Jersey,” Christie said.

“And so I’m sorry if in anyway she was inconvenienced, but the inconvenience that could occur from having folks who are symptomatic and ill out and amongst the public is a much, much greater concern of mine,” he said. “This is a difficult situation to deal with and my heart goes out to her because she’s someone who’s been trying to help others.”

The nurse landed at Newark Liberty International Airport in apparent good health on Friday, but was placed in a mandatory quarantine because her visit in Sierra Leone included time treating Ebola patients. While still at the quarantine station at the airport, she developed a fever and was taken to University Hospital in Newark for evaluation.

The woman tested negative for the Ebola virus, but Christie asserted the nurse is “obviously ill.”

“When I left this morning she still had a fever and she was being tested for other illnesses after the Ebola test came back negative,” Christie said.

“She may to be tested for that again because sometimes it takes a little bit longer to make a definitive determination,” he said. “There’s no question the woman is ill, the question is what is her illness.”

Christie said “all steps were taken” to try to make the nurse’s stay at the hospital comfortable.

“I hope she recovers quickly, and we’re going to do everything we can in New Jersey and with our public health system to make sure that she does,” he said.

The governor is in Iowa today fundraising for a congressman and the state’s Republican governor, Terry Branstad, who’s seeking re-election.

Matt Arco may be reached at marco@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MatthewArco. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.

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