Massachusetts

Cape Cod Elementary School Closed After ‘High Volume' of Students, Staff Fall Ill

It's been a rough couple of days for 8-year-old Julian Liddell.

"I threw up in class, so I had to go to the nurse," said the second grade student at Centerville Elementary School in Massachusetts.

His mom got a call from the school Wednesday.

"I thought it was a nervous stomach, so I told them to give him a Tums and send him back to class," said Jane Liddell. "And then she called back about 20 minutes to a half hour later and said, 'He's very sick, you're going to have to come get him.'"

Julian is not the only one who has been sick at the Cape Cod school.

The superintendent of the Barnstable School District says of the 262 students, 70 were sick Wednesday and 101 students were absent Thursday.

About a third of the 52 staff members have been out, as well, with gastrointestinal symptoms, including diarrhea and vomiting.

State health officials said in a statement, "While the organism has not yet been identified, the Department of Public Health is working with the school to perform testing on specimens at the state Public Health Laboratory. But the volume of symptoms and the onset of illness are consistent with readily transmittable organisms like norovirus. We are working with the school and local health officials on infection control; closure of the school through the weekend is likely to be beneficial to interrupting the chain of transmission."

So far, so good for Marcus Keith, a Kindergarten student at the school. He's feeling well and trying to stay healthy.

"Washing my hands after I go to the bathroom," said Keith. "Doing hand sanitizer before I eat lunch."

His mom is hoping for the best and constantly reminding him how to stay healthy.

"Hand-washing, good diet," said his mother Jocelyn Duffley. "I told Marcus just not to touch his face a lot."

Custodians have already done a deep clean, disinfecting the building. They'll do the same thing Friday.

It's hoped the school will reopen on Monday.

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