A GOVERNMENT health agency has concluded its investigation into a possible Ebola case at Colchester Hospital.

The urgent treatment centre at the site in Turner Road, Colchester, was shut overnight last Wednesday after a patient who had recently travelled abroad fell unwell.

Hospital bosses say the facility was deep-cleaned by staff before it reopened at 7am on Thursday.

Gazette: Illness - EbolaIllness - Ebola (Image: Archant)

A spokeswoman stated the unspecified incident was an “infection control issue” led by the UK Health Security Agency.

She said: “We cannot provide any details of an individual’s test results given the importance of patient confidentiality.”

Dr Meera Chand, UKHSA director of clinical and emerging infection, said the correct procedures had been followed during the incident.

“Individuals who have travelled recently and report illness are routinely assessed by NHS clinicians for a variety of infectious diseases,” he said.

Gazette: Lockdown - Colchester HospitalLockdown - Colchester Hospital (Image: Archant)

The scare comes less than two weeks after Covid-style lockdowns in Uganda were extended amid an Ebola outbreak.

Officials refused to confirm that the Colchester patient, who wasn't identified, had just returned from Uganda.

The Sun reported the patient is understood to have raised concerns after developing viral symptoms and revealing their recent travel history.

The patient was reportedly being tested for a number of viral haemorrhagic fevers.

Vincent Donaldson, 65, who was at Colchester Hospital on Wednesday said patients were being sent to hospitals in Clacton and Ipswich while the site was shut down.