ST. PAUL — Minnesota will likely continue to monitor travelers from West Africa until the Ebola outbreak has been officially declared over, despite a recent slowdown in new cases abroad.

The state Department of Health has spent more than $2 million monitoring all travelers from Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea for Ebola symptoms, Minnesota Public Radio News reports. The program is coordinated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Travelers are called to see if they’re experiencing any Ebola-like symptoms. If they’ve been exposed to someone with the disease, they undergo in-home checks by public health workers every day for three weeks.

Cold and flu symptoms can complicate monitoring.

“There are these situations that we need to deal with and address and you know, they’re never simple,” said Kris Ehresmann, director of the Infectious Disease Epidemiology and Control division at the state Department of Health.

None of the 323 travelers under the state’s 21-day watch have developed Ebola. Four people were tested after reporting possible symptoms, but were not quarantined.

Ehresmann said the people tested were treated behind-the-scenes as if they had Ebola, with staff wearing protective gear.

Hennepin County is prepping to continue monitoring for Ebola for a year if necessary, according to Dave Johnson, the county’s supervisor of epidemiology and health assessment. Ehresmann said the state is also preparing for another year.

The state health department and some hospitals would be reimbursed for certain expenses tied to Ebola in a proposed bill in the state legislature. Some costs have been paid for by federal grants.

“I think if there were no resources available we’d have to do some serious thinking about what can we realistically commit,” Ehresmann said.