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Tom Scheck
St. Paul, Minn.

Health officials: Minn. tested 1 person for Ebola, results negative

Ebola
Health Commissioner Ed Ehlinger, center, with U.S. Senator Al Franken, U.S. Congressman Keith Eliison, Governor Mark Dayton and U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar, left to right, during a news conference Oct. 17, 2014 at the Veterans Service Building in St. Paul.
Jennifer Simonson / MPR News

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Minnesota has tested one person here for the Ebola virus, but results were negative, Minnesota Health Commissioner Ed Ehlinger said Friday.

• Full Ebola coverage from MPR News
 • Q&A: Testing for and treating Ebola in Minnesota

The person was in Minnesota from Africa and was suspected to have the deadly virus, but tests on Thursday confirmed the person did not have it, Ehlinger told reporters.

The person was coming from Ghana, which is not one of the African countries considered high risk for Ebola. Still, there were symptoms "that were of concern" and that led officials to test, he added.

There are no patients in Minnesota now who are suspected of having Ebola, Ehlinger emphasized.

"We will, I'm sure, do many more tests because we get people calling in with symptoms and various histories that we want to be overly cautious," Ehlinger said. "This is just an example of one of those cases."

Officials are looking to create a so-called Center of Excellence in Minnesota, a medical unit that would handle any possible Ebola cases in the state.

It would be a "hospital within a hospital" to ensure people who are suspected of having Ebola are isolated, Sen. Al Franken said Friday on the MPR News show The Daily Circuit.

Ehlinger told reporters that officials are working "as rapidly as we can" to set up such a hospital operation.

State health leaders are keeping an eye on the situation in Minnesota and working with federal and health care organizations to monitor the situation.

Gov. Mark Dayton said he's meeting with health care professionals tomorrow to discuss the state's preparedness on Ebola.

Minnesota U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison said he plans to meet Saturday afternoon in Brooklyn Center to talk with people from western Africa who are dealing with the Ebola concerns.

Minnesota has a large number of immigrants from Liberia and other west African countries.

Dayton and other leaders have asked federal health officials to conduct Ebola screenings at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.

While Delta Air Lines and other carriers are not flying directly from west Africa to MSP, Dayton wants another filter and checkpoint.