Emerald Ridge Elementary School practicing caution following gastrointestinal illness outbreak

Students and staff at Emerald Ridge Elementary School, which serves White City, Emerald Park and the area east of Regina, are being asked to be vigilant about ensuring hands are washed due to concern of an undetermined gastrointestinal illness.

On Friday, 21 of the school’s 421 students were out sick. According to senior public health inspector, George Koutsoulis, 14 students from a single class were ill.

“It starts out as a sudden onset, very abrupt, vomiting or diarrhea or both. It lasts for 24 to 48 hours, and then it seems to kind of calm down after that,” Koutsoulis said.

Koutsoulis advised that if someone becomes very dehydrated they should go to a clinic for further evaluation. He added recovery should be quite easy if you can drink, eat and rest.

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The Prairie Valley School Division has been working closely with the Saskatchewan Health Authority since Friday. The school received a thorough clean over the weekend in an attempt to curb further infection.

The division also cancelled extracurricular activities and any food sharing events, like a Christmas potluck, for the week. Everything is expected to be back to normal after the Christmas break, which begins Friday.

Gastrointestinal diseases are high contagious, so the division and health authority are re-enforcing proper handwashing. This involves using soap and warm water for at least 20 seconds. Koutsoulis said it is most important to wash-up after using the washroom and/or before handling food.

“We know that the gastrointestinal illness is also in the community. We’ve been seeing it in other schools, institutions like long-term care facilities, childcare facilities,” he said.

“We typically see an uptick in these types of illnesses this time of year.”