A hotel in Saint John, N.B., was placed under lockdown for several hours on Sunday, after a woman who had recently travelled to West Africa fell ill.
Police were called to the Hilton Hotel around 11:15 a.m. after staff discovered the woman unconscious in one of the rooms.
She was sent to hospital for treatment, and the hotel premises was placed under lockdown. Authorities later confirmed that the lockdown was a precautionary measure prompted by initial concerns that the woman had contracted Ebola.
Health officials say it is unlikely the woman has the virus.
鈥淚n the context of the world environment right now, we needed to ensure that we didn鈥檛 have that type of environment here,鈥� Saint John Regional Police Staff Sgt. Mike King said on Sunday. 鈥淲e found that it was in the best interest of the folks in the hotel and the folks that might come in the hotel, to lock down until we had a chance to reach out to public health.鈥�
But the woman had travelled to Cameroon, which is not among the West African countries hit by the Ebola outbreak.
Those countries are:
- Senegal
- Guinea
- Sierra Leone
- Liberia
- Nigeria
Dr. Scott Giffin, a local medical health officer, said the woman did not travel to an area affected by the virus.
鈥淭he definition of the area in which you acquire Ebola was not on this person鈥檚 itinerary,鈥� Giffin said.
The woman has not been identified, and Giffin would not comment her current condition.
The lockdown was lifted at approximately 5 p.m. local time.
It was not immediately clear how many people were in the hotel at the time of the lockdown.
So far, there have been no confirmed cases of Ebola in Canada. Officials insist the risk remains very low, but they urge anyone who has recently travelled to West Africa and is feeling unwell to seek a medical evaluation immediately.
With files from The Canadian Press
