Second test clears nurse of Ebola

A second test has cleared a Gore healthcare worker of the Ebola virus, Radio New Zealand reports.

Health Minister Jonathan Coleman said the healthcare worker who recently returned from Sierra Leone remains in a stable condition, and would continue to be cared for in Christchurch Hospital.

The woman had been working as part of the New Zealand team sent to help with the crisis which has claimed thousands of lives.

She arrived back in New Zealand last Wednesday, and was transferred by helicopter to a special unit at Christchurch Hospital in an isolation pod after becoming unwell on Friday.

Blood samples were sent to Melbourne to be tested for Ebola, and the test came back negative. However, in line with international protocols, a second test was required to rule out Ebola.

The only other person the woman had been in contact with was her partner and they have also been cleared to return to work.