Police say the Dr. Everett Chalmers Regional Hospital in Fredericton is no longer considered at risk and police patrols have been removed.

Officers had been guarding the entrances of hospital most of the day Tuesday due to a possible threat from a man with a weapon.

A man phoned the hospital about 10:30 a.m. local time and made what police are calling a "general threat.

"As investigators worked to determine the validity of the threat, uniformed officers were deployed to provide security," Const. Rick Mooney stated in a news release.

"At approximately 4 p.m. a determination was made that the immediacy of risk to the hospital is no longer present and police security is no longer required," he said.

The investigation continues.

Horizon Health Network officials have declined to comment.

Code black

Shortly after the call, the hospital declared a "code black" over the public announcement system, which refers to a possible threat from an outside intruder.

A large police presence quickly followed, with officers stationed at every entrance and only allowing people to enter through the front main doors.

Three police cruisers and an unmarked police vehicle were parked in front of the emergency department.

Officers were patting down all male visitors entering the building.

John Lamb was one person who was screened by a police officer when he arrived at the hospital.

"We came into visit someone in hospital and when we came through the entrance my wife and I we were met by a police officer who insisted he search to make sure we were not carrying any weapons," Lamb said.

"After the search … he allowed us to come in and thanked us for our time. We have no idea why we were being searched really."

A security guard told CBC News they were checking for weapons.

The hospital was not under lockdown, Mooney stressed.

"We're here to provide security as best we can at this point, and again, we are in the process of learning more, so until we can do that and understand precisely what we're dealing with here, then we are taking precautions at this point," he had said at the scene.

The large police presence was a "precaution," said Insp. Gary Forward

"We just want to make sure that we are taking all the necessary steps with a call that came in. But right now we are not sure what we have," Forward had said.

Otherwise, it appeared to be more or less business as usual, with people arriving for appointments, or to visit patients.

People already in the hospital were allowed to exit via any door.

The hospital, located on Priestman Street, has about 315 in-patient beds.