The possible Ebola patient at Kaiser Permanente South Sacramento (Calif.) Medical Center has tested negative for the virus, the California Department of Health confirmed Thursday.
The patient's blood was sent to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for testing earlier this week out of an abundance of caution. While awaiting test results, the patient was placed in a negative pressure room, and hospital staff members were educated on Ebola and provided with appropriate infection control training, according to Kaiser.
"We…want to acknowledge the efforts of the Kaiser Permanente South Sacramento physicians, nurses and staff in providing excellent skill to this patient," a Kaiser statement reads. "Their knowledge, skill, compassion and professionalism have been outstanding."
According to the CDC, this is one of 68 instances of an Ebola scare in U.S. hospitals in the last three weeks. None of those possible Ebola patients have tested positive for the virus.
The two American Ebola patients who were treated at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta were released from the hospital Thursday. So far, they were the only two patients with confirmed cases of Ebola in the U.S.
The Ebola outbreak in West Africa has claimed more than 1,300 lives since March, according to the CDC.