Twenty-eight residents and 11 employees have contracted norovirus at Narrows Glen, a senior living community in Tacoma, Wash., according to a report from The News Tribune.
Staff notified the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department of the outbreak on Dec. 22. The department was closed on Dec. 22 and Monday for the Christmas holiday. County health officials began investigating the outbreak Tuesday.
"Narrows Glen is working with the health department and following our protocol about cleaning surfaces and preventing further spread by limiting contact among residents," said Steve Metcalf, a spokesman with the health department, according to The News Tribune.
Symptoms of norovirus can include stomach pain, fever, vomiting and diarrhea. The illness can be transmitted via person-to-person contact, or contact with contaminated surfaces and food. Norovirus causes 56,000 to 71,000 hospitalizations and 570 to 800 deaths every year, according to the CDC.
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