Almost three quarters of pupils at an Angus primary school are off on sickness or precautionary grounds today following an outbreak of the winter vomiting bug.
The 428-pupil school has remained open despite this week’s sickness outbreak but it seems families may be playing it safe even if their children are not showing symptoms.
Angus Council confirmed 329 pupils are off from primaries one through seven today, and 118 are currently in school.
It is understood not all of the children will be sick, as some parents have elected to remove their children to avoid catching norovirus.
Some 173 pupils went off sick from the school on Wednesday, along with 10 staff.
Lessons have gone ahead today with merged classes.
A council spokeswoman previously said: “Parents and carers are advised to keep unwell children at home until they are clear of the virus for 48 hours … The school remains open and senior staff will be teaching affected classes.”
The spokesman added: “The school is working with the local environmental health service to investigate the cause of this illness. We have arranged for additional cleaning to be carried out to reduce the risk of any further infection.”
Parents told The Courier they felt the school should have been shut to contain the outbreak.
Nada Wilson-Bruce said: “My son has it… really wish they would shut the school. He has been very poorly since the early hours of this morning and has been vomiting blood (he has had medical attention).
“Both of my children will stay off until I am convinced the outbreak has diminished.”
Jennifer Clark Mitchell added: “My son isn’t displaying any symptoms, but given the large outbreak he won’t be back until after Christmas.
“The school needs to be properly deep cleaned with strong disinfectant and remain closed for a couple of days to ensure all bugs have died.”