As many as 10 per cent of the children at Gibsons Elementary School were absent between Jan. 24 and 27 due to a spike in reported illnesses.
The rise in absences came during the middle of the flu season, and with outbreaks of norovirus in areas like Squamish and Victoria, health officials are reminding the public not to take chances.
"[Norovirus] is certainly circulating on Sea-to-Sky, and I wouldn't be surprised if it's here on the Coast as well," said Paul Martiquet, the local health officer with Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH). "It's beneficial just to keep the kids home until they feel better; otherwise, they go and basically spread their germs around. That applies to adults as well."
There have been no confirmations of norovirus on the Coast as of yet.
Recent outbreaks have been highly publicized, including the infection of 75 students at a journalism conference at the University of Victoria and an outbreak at a residential care home in Squamish.
Both incidents occurred between Jan. 13 and 15.
"If you're feeling unwell, then don't go to work and spread it to your fellow coworkers," insisted Martiquet.
The principal of Gibsons Elementary, Deborah Luporini, confirmed that 28 of the school's 281 students were sick last week.
"When we can see that the numbers are increasing, our custodians do a lot of extra cleaning and disinfecting," she said. "All the regular cleaning but with some extra focusing on things like door knobs, push bars, telephones, countertops, places where there's going to be a lot of hands all the time."
The school also distributed written notices to parents reminding them to keep their kids home if sick, including a few days after their symptoms disappear, to prevent others from becoming infected.
Regular announcements in the school also remind children to wash their hands, as this is the easiest way to prevent sicknesses such as norovirus and the flu.
VCH recommends flu shots. If residents want them, they are still freely available on the Coast.
But "wash your hands, wash your hands, wash your hands," Luporini stressed.
