Officials from La Caja, Costa Rica’s public health system, announced that the second suspected case of Ebola virus infection in the country has been cleared by epidemiologists at Tomas Casas Hospital in Ciudad Cortes of the Osa canton, province of Puntarenas.

According to a report filed by health journalist Lady Rojas of online news daily CRHoy.com, the patient in question was evaluated by physicians who ruled out a case of Ebola. No further details were provided about this case, which had already caused a stir among residents of the Osa Peninsula, a region that is home to a small expatriate community whose members are predominantly from Canada and the United States. La Caja’s Medical Director, Dr. Maria Eugenia Villalta Bonilla, assuaged fears with a public announcement that confirmed the absence of a nexus between the patient in Ciudad Cortes and an African immigrant who was screened for Ebola in San Jose last week.

As reported by The Costa Rica Star on October 5^th:

A gentleman from Ghana was taken to the Calderón Guardia Hospital in the capital city of San Jose on Saturday afternoon for the purpose of ruling out infection by the Ebola virus. According to a report filed by Karla Barquero of online news daily CRHoy.com, the man was approached by officers from the Fuerza Publica (the national police force of Costa Rica) detachment in the district of La Merced and questioned on his immigration status.

Dr. Villalta added that there is no reason to panic at this time, but that it is important to pay attention to the recommendations from the Ministry of Public Health on hand washing as well as on coughing and sneezing; these are measures that are usually followed in countries where tropical diseases are more common. Costa Rica is still implementing protocols suggested by the World Health Organization in the wake of the epidemic in Western Africa and the recent infections in the United States and Spain, two nations with close commercial, cultural and tourism ties to Costa Rica.