Health department: Schools closed as a precautionary measure will reopen on Monday (1 October)
No evidence of the norovirus pathogen to date Note: Sick people can return to communal facilities after 48 hours without symptoms and if they feel well
The Chemnitz schools that were closed yesterday and today (Friday) as a precautionary measure due to suspected norovirus infections will be able to reopen on Monday, 1 October 2012, according to information from the Chemnitz City Health Department in coordination with the Chemnitz Regional Office of the Saxon Education Agency.
According to information from the public health department, coordination also took place with the education agency with regard to the cleaning and disinfection measures already ordered in the affected schools; among other things, a so-called final disinfection will be carried out over the weekend and hand sanitiser will be provided in the school toilets from Monday.
Important note from the public health department: People affected by the disease vomiting diarrhoea who have been free of such symptoms for 48 hours and feel well may return to communal facilities (such as schools and day-care centres). In this context, the weekend also helps to break the chain of infection and contribute to further recovery and fewer illnesses.
Regarding the current status of the cases of suspected norovirus, which have also been registered in Chemnitz and have not yet been confirmed, the public health department has reported that 15 schools in Chemnitz and one day-care centre have been infected. There are a total of 408 cases of illness. The food is being sampled by the responsible food monitoring office in Central Saxony.
The Chemnitz public health department is in constant contact with the food monitoring and veterinary office of the city of Chemnitz and at the same time with the state testing centre. In addition, the medical home visit service has been informed about the coming weekend: The focus is initially on home care with appropriate counselling for those affected and their relatives (see also the leaflet published by the health department at www.chemnitz.de ). According to the head of the health department of the city of Chemnitz, medical officer Dr Liebhard Monzer, the most important thing is and remains hygiene and the intake of fluids, as well as bed rest. In the case of circulatory situations, inpatient care is of course also provided in the clinics, which are also kept up to date and prepared for any emergency admissions. All paediatricians in private practice in the city of Chemnitz have also been informed since the first suspected cases occurred.