Connecticut hospital says preliminary tests negative for patient with 'Ebola-like symptoms'

Yale University, in Connecticut (AP)

Yale-New Haven Hospital in Connecticut said it was evaluating a patient with "Ebola-like symptoms," but preliminary indications were he had tested negative for the virus.

A statement released late Thursday by Dr. Thomas Balcezak, chief medical officer at Yale-New Haven Hospital, said, "We have received preliminary notification that the patient admitted to Yale-New Haven Hospital late last night has tested negative for Ebola. Due to an overabundance of caution, before we fully rule it out, we will wait for the CDC official confirmation of the test result."

The patient is reportedly one of two Yale University graduate epidemiology students who traveled to Liberia last month to advise the health ministry on using computers to track the disease, according to Laurence Grotheer, a spokesman for Harp.

When the two graduate students returned from Liberia, Yale officials earlier said they had not traveled into areas where Ebola was present. They initially asked the two to quarantine themselves for 21 days but last week rescinded that request, according to the university.

The student did not have contact with anyone sick with Ebola during the trip, but the person was moved to the hospital in coordination with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Yale-New Haven Hospital admitted the patient late Wednesday.

Reuters contributed to this report.