Norovirus Shuts Down Local School

Norovirus Shuts Down Local School Memorial Elementary closed for cleaning as kids go out sick

Damien Fisher News Staff Writer WINCHENDON  Memorial Elementary School was closed Friday after an outbreak of norovirus sickened dozens of children. “We had a sick building,” said Superintendent Steven Haddad. The outbreak started Tuesday, when one student threw up just inside the school entrance, getting sick on the carpet. School officials did not at that  point realize it was norovirus, and cleaned the area, though not enough for this illness. Mr. Haddad said there is one entrance in the school for kindergarten, first, and second grade students, taking them all through the area where the one student was sick. About six students went home on Tuesday suffering from fever and stomach ailments, he said, but nothing out of the ordinary. The norovirus mimics typical stomach bugs that make their way through schools  during winter months, Mr. Haddad said, so he and other staff were not that worried. As the day went on, there were more student absences and more students going home. On Thursday, with more than 40 children already out sick, 19 went home that day, he said. The total was about 20 percent of the student population out sick. Mr. Haddad contacted Win­chendon’s health department, and the Massachusetts Depart­ment of Health about the suspected outbreak on Thursday. The school was closed Friday, and a cleaning crew was brought in to get the building clean and safe, he said. The surfaces are being cleaned with bleach solutions, and the carpets steam cleaned. The norovirus can be killed with temperatures between 170 degrees and 212 degrees Fahrenheit, he said. The school building has more than 140,000 square feet, much of it carpeted. The Centers for Disease Control states that norovirus can be a serious illness for  young children and the elderly, leading to thousands of hospitalizations, and more than 500 deaths, every year. The disease can be spread by coming in contact with an infected person, through contaminated food or water, or even  touching a contaminated surface. The deep cleaning at Memorial will go on through late into Friday night and Saturday, Mr. Haddad said. He fully expects the school to be clean and safe by Sunday, and school to resume on Monday morning. The only reason for the building not to open on Monday, he said, is a concern he has for residual odor from the chemical cleaners being used. “You can’t really air out the building this time of year,” he said. If the odor is too strong when he checks on Sunday afternoon, he will cancel school for Monday, he said. Mr. Haddad does not think that will be necessary,  but he is ready just in case.