Valencia’s primary school was closed on Friday after numerous students fell ill with the probable norovirus. The school will open again on Tuesday.

Pajaro Valley Unified School District notified parents via email on Nov. 7.

“The purpose of the school closure is to stop further transmission of the virus,” the email said.

Families should keep their children home if they have any of these symptoms, and keep them home until 48 hours after symptoms end, Pajaro Valley Unified School District officials said.

According to Andrea Carlos Willy, PVUSD Impact and Resource Development Officer, 236 students were absent Thursday.

In a public alert from the Santa Cruz County Health Services Agency (HSA), 33 additional cases of gastrointestinal illness were reported in the workplace in late October, with no known link between the two outbreaks.

There are no known hospitalizations or deaths.

A school official who asked not to be identified said more than 80 students were absent Wednesday, followed by more than 200 the next day.

The employee expressed concern that the school was not closed Thursday and that employees had not been warned that the cause of the illness was norovirus.

In a text message, PVUSD Superintendent Heather Conrtreras said the district has been in contact with the HSA since Wednesday and has been monitoring the situation under the guidance of that agency.

“We always take closing schools very seriously,” Contreras said. “We also keep the health and safety of our students as a top priority. As we monitored the situation and the number of absent students increased, we decided to close the school.”

Contreras said, adding that school and district officials determined Wednesday that “the number of reported absences due to nausea and vomiting did not conclusively indicate a school closure, and that the deep cleaning and disinfection of the site that occurred overnight would help contain and limit the spread.”

According to the HSA, viruses such as norovirus are easily transmitted through surfaces contaminated with feces or vomit, and in close contact with an infected person. Schools and other places where many people are close together are therefore particularly vulnerable.

“Noroviruses are highly contagious because there is a high viral load in both feces and vomit, and only a few virus particles are needed to transmit disease,” the HSA said in a public announcement.

Even after symptoms disappear, people are still highly contagious – especially during the first 48 hours, but up to two weeks after symptoms disappear.

Treatment should include supportive care with fluids.

Advisory from Santa Cruz County Health Services Agency

• Practice washing hands regularly with soap and water. Alcohol-based sanitizers are NOT effective against Norovirus.

• Always wash your hands with soap and water:

-Before and after contact with a sick or suspected sick person

-After using the toilet

-Before AND after preparing food

After touching potentially contaminated objects such as doorknobs, counters and keyboards

-Use contact and standard precautions when caring for sick or suspected sick persons.

-Stay at home if you experience complaints and only return to work if you have been free of complaints for 48 hours.

-Clean and disinfect regularly

-Use disinfectants recommended by the Environmental Protection Agency

– Use a 1:10 dilution of bleach with water for surfaces contaminated by body fluids

-Wash dirty linen in hot water and dry on the hottest possible setting.

For information, visit cdc.gov/norovirus/index.html

•••

This story has been updated with a response from PVUSD Superintendent Heather Contreras.