Colorado health officials have taken an unprecedented step of closing schools after a possible outbreak of a highly contagious virus, called norovirus, which has sickened hundreds in the state so far.
Norovirus has affected hundreds of students and teachers, including Cendie Wood’s grandchildren. Efforts have been made to eliminate the high contagious virus by sanitizing hallways and scrubbing down every classroom at Mesa County schools.
Wood said, “Every time I send the kids back to school they come homesick.”
Apparently, the norovirus outbreak started last week, which quickly started to spread from school to school, driving health officials to shut down all 46 schools in the state.
Registered Nurse Tanya Marvin said, “When we have 20 kids actively vomiting in a school that already has 17 percent gone we know that we’ve got a problem. We have to stop the exposure.”
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says that people who have norovirus infection can shed billions of nanoparticles of the virus. And it takes very few particles to infect a person.
The infection spreads through close or direct contact and contaminated food. It can also spread by touching surfaces tainted by the virus. The signs and symptoms of norovirus include vomiting, stomach pain, and diarrhea.
Three daughters of a Colorado resident Joy Zeller are among the students who are now at home.
Zeller said, “The school district made the right choice, because of the health of our families. No one wants to spend Thanksgiving break with everyone puking.” Another Colorado district has also been affected by the norovirus outbreak. The health officials announced that the West Grand School District would shut down all schools on Friday, Monday and Tuesday.
