Nursing staff, who abandoned their posts at the Nelson Mandela Academic Hospital in Mthatha, returned to work late on Saturday.
The Eastern Cape health department says the nurses consulted their unions and decided to accept the ultimatum and returned to work.
Department spokesperson, Sizwe Kupelo earlier said the nurses had until Sunday to report to work, or face dismissal.
Twenty patients had been transferred to another hospital, after nurses abandoned their posts on Friday night.
This was after they held two hospital managers hostage over night duty allowances. The nurses, who were not armed, locked them in a boardroom.
Kupelo said a list of nurses qualifying for the allowance had been submitted, but had to be re-submitted when it was found to contain mistakes.
