Possible norovirus outbreak at Oakridge Elementary School

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As many as 80 children at Oakridge Elementary School in Arlington have come down with what health officials believe is to be norovirus.

A letter has gone home to parents says the health department recommends that parents keep their children home for 24 hours after the symptoms stop. They advise frequent handwashing and to scrub for about 20 seconds.

Also, the school is working with the health department to identify cases. Shared surfaces at the school are being disinfected daily.

"A lot of people are getting sick," said one parent. "It's spreading really fast. A lot of people vomiting and stuff like that. Nasty stuff."

"I spoke to the school nurse and she also sent a note and said she is cleaning her clinic as many times in the day as she could, working as hard as she could, so I know our staff is doing their best they can," said another Oakridge parent.

Some schools in the Midwest closed down a few weeks ago because so many children were absent due to a norovirus outbreak.

Arlington Public Schools said there are no plans to close the school at this time.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says some of the most common symptoms for norovirus are diarrhea, vomiting, nausea, stomach pain, fever, headaches and body aches. The virus is still even contagious even a few days after you recover.

An Arlington Public Schools spokesperson said they have crews coming in nightly to clean the school, and so far, the outbreak is not believed to be serious enough to close the school.