Thursday, February 03, 2022
PHOTO: file
On Thursday, the Rhode Island Department of Health’s (RIDOH) Center for Acute Infectious Disease Epidemiology (CAIDE) identified a Noro-like illness outbreak at The Learning Garden in Warwick.
A letter was sent to parents to notify them of the outbreak, and parents are being advised to keep children home if they are ill.
The letter to parents also includes tips to prevent further spread of the illness, including proper hand hygiene. The school has also been advised to use appropriate products when conducting the extensive cleaning of the school.
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CAIDE advises healthcare providers to have a high index of diagnostic suspicion in anyone from The Learning Garden in Warwick with severe nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea.
In addition, healthcare providers are urged to remind patients and household members:
– Stay home while ill.
– If you are a food handler, healthcare worker, or child care worker and you are ill, stay home from work until vomiting and diarrhea have stopped for at least 48 hours.
– Wash hands with soap and warm water, especially after using the bathroom or changing a diaper and before eating, preparing, or handling food.
– Immediately clean and disinfect any surface that may be contaminated with vomit or feces. Use a cleaning solution of 5-25 tablespoons of bleach to one gallon of water or an EPA-registered disinfectant that is effective against norovirus.
– Wash clothes, sheets, and towels that may be contaminated in the longest washing machine cycle available, and machine dry. Be sure to wash your hands after handling contaminated laundry.
– Proper hand hygiene continues to be important even after patients return to school or work.
READ LETTER TO PARENTS
Date: Thursday, February 3, 2022
Dear TLG Families,
This week, there has been an increase in the number of individuals at our school who are ill with nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. Our administration has been working closely with the Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDOH) to prevent more illnesses. The symptoms our students are having are common with stomach viruses, such as norovirus, which typically cause illness for one to two days and then pass.
Most stomach viruses can be passed through contact with an ill person or touching surfaces or objects that have been contaminated and then touching your mouth or food. Although these types of viruses are contagious, they are also preventable. Here are some steps that parents, children, and daycare staff can take to prevent this virus from spreading:
If your child has nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea, keep your child home from school, social events, and extracurricular activities until the symptoms have passed.
Let the daycare staff know immediately if your child has these symptoms.
Always use soap and warm water to wash your hands for at least 20 seconds after going to the bathroom, changing a diaper, or cleaning up after an ill child. If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand gel.
Clean and disinfect contaminated surfaces with a bleach and water solution or an EPA registered disinfectant that is effective against norovirus. Laundry and bedding soiled by vomit and diarrhea should be washed and dried at the hottest possible settings allowed for those fabrics.
Any household member with similar symptoms who works at a restaurant, childcare center, or healthcare facility must stay home from work until at least two days after vomiting and diarrhea have stopped.
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