Officials with Alberta Health Services said late Monday morning that the emergency room at the Royal Alexandra Hospital had reopened – it was closed over concerns stemming from a patient showing signs of potentially having a highly contagious illness.

AHS said the patient went into the ER at 6 a.m. Monday, and told triage he had travelled to Africa recently – although he had not travelled to areas where Ebola has been found – he was placed in isolation for further testing.

“We did have a patient there that gave a travel history that was suggestive, and had a clinical condition, that he might have had Ebola,” Dr. Gerry Predy with AHS said.

It wasn’t known what the patient was suffering from, officials said initially – but within hours, officials confirmed it was not a case of Ebola.

“We have now determined that the patient does not have Ebola, so the department will be re-opening,” Predy said. “Any patients who were in the department at that time can be reassured they are not at risk of getting Ebola or other infectious diseases.”

The ER was reopened at 11 a.m.

Predy said AHS may have appeared to have been overly cautious in taking the measures they did, but one infectious disease expert said officials did the right thing.

“The public health system always goes to the greatest level of precaution beforehand,” Microbiologist Jason Tetro said.

Tetro added that it isn’t just up to health authorities to protect Canadians from highly infectious diseases.

“If you’re on a plane that’s coming from a foreign country that is affected, our friends at Canadian Border Services already know,” Tetro said.

Predy said if an ill individual manages to slip past those checkstops, AHS would be ready.

“Today’s actions should provide reassurances that even if there was a case of Ebola, it will be handled,” Predy said.

The patient remained in isolation, and AHS said he was still being assessed after the ER reopened – no details were released on his condition.

With files from Susan Amerongen and Serena Mah