ROCKDALE COUNTY, Ga. — The elementary school in Rockdale County struck with a mass illness, possibly nororvirus, is scheduled to reopen Tuesday morning.
Administrators closed Honey Creek Elementary Monday after more than 200 children got sick last week. Crews spent the weekend and Monday scrubbing and disinfecting it. They hope this will help keep the illness, suspected to be norovirus, and germs from coming back.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, norovirus is very contagious and causes vomiting and diarrhea.
Nausea and diarrhea were some of symptoms many students at Honey Creek were experiencing, including Latriece Colson's children.
“First, my daughter got sick," she said.
“I had a tummy ache," said Darmani Colson, who is 6 years old.
“So, like, right after she had it, I caught it. And then he caught it," Latriece Colson said.
She and her children said they are now feeling better.
The health department suspects norovirus, which spreads easily. It can go from the stool, onto hands and then across surfaces and into foods and drinks. The virus can live for days or longer.
And it can strike anywhere. According to the BBC, norovirus struck more than 400 passengers of the Oriana during a cruise in 2012, for example. Earlier this year, norovirus infected hundreds of people at the Winter Olympics. There were also cases reported after people tested positive for norovirus after eating at a Chipotle restaurant last year.
These are some tips from the CDC to protect yourself and others from norovirus:
- Wash your hands often
- Rinse fruits and vegetables
- Cook shellfish thoroughly
- Stay home when sick, and for two days after symptoms stop
- Avoid preparing food for others when sick and for two days after symptoms stop.
The health department is waiting on tests results to confirm if the illness was indeed norovirus that sickened students at Honey Creek.
A spokesperson for Rockdale County Schools said Monday that on Friday-- the day when the most children were sick-- at least 222 students, 35 percent of the total enrollment of 629, stayed home or checked out during the day.
For now, Latriece Colson will send her kids back to Honey Creek in the morning, but she will be making their lunches at home, from now on, just in case the kitchen had anything to do with this outbreak.
“I think it had to be within the food, so my kids will not be eating any school lunches," she said.
Even though Honey Creek Elementary will be back open Tuesday, the health department is urging parents who think their kids have recovered to keep them home until 24 hours after vomiting and diarrhea have stopped.
