1,200 Winter Olympics security staff pulled from duty after norovirus outbreak

About 1,200 people working security at the Pyeongchang Olympics are being kept in their rooms while they’re tested for norovirus.

Lee Hee-beom, chairman of the Pyeongchang Olympics organizing committee, said Tuesday that they’ll be sequestered until they’re declared well.

He said results of tests on the workers will come out soon.

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Pyeongchang’s Olympic organizing committee said Monday that officials started investigating a norovirus outbreak after 41 security guards suffered diarrhea and vomiting.

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Officials are examining food and water sources at a mountainside facility in Pyeongchang where the guards had been staying and also inspecting 18 other facilities that rely on groundwater.

Norovirus is a contagious virus that causes stomach pain, nausea and diarrhea. The most effective way to stop the spread is to practice good hand-washing and personal hygiene.