Many people are being urged to stay at home for 48 hours or more
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has issued an alert to anyone who was “up in the night” with certain symptoms. The government health body said in an update on Tuesday, February 25, that the “virus spreads easily and you should stay home for 48 hours after symptoms stop.”
It comes as cases of norovirus, also known as the “winter vomiting bug”, remain high. The UKHSA’s post on X, formerly Twitter, reads: “Up in the night with symptoms of #norovirus? The virus spreads easily and you should stay home for 48 hours after symptoms stop.”
Text within a graphic accompanying the update further explains: “Norovirus spreads easily. Washing your hands regularly with soap and warm water can help you stop catching it and passing it on if you do get sick.
“If you catch norovirus, don’t go to work or school for 48 hours after symptoms stop, as you can still pass it on during this time. Do not visit loved ones in hospital or care homes in this time to avoid causing outbreaks.”
Additional guidance on the UKHSA’s norovirus blog says that while the bug is unpleasant though short-lived for most people, some groups including young children, the elderly, and those with compromised immunity, are at risk of a more serious and prolonged illness.
In some cases these people may need medical treatment. Official advice adds: “You can catch norovirus more than once because at any given time multiple genotypes of norovirus are circulating: you can be infected by one and you will have limited immunity if you are then exposed to a different one soon after.”
People are also being reminded that alcoholic hand gels do not kill norovirus. The virus can usually be treated at home with rest and plenty of fluids.
However, you should call 111 if you’re worried about a baby aged under one, if your child stops breast or bottle feeding while they’re ill, if a child under five shows signs of dehydration, if you or your child still has signs of dehydration after using oral rehydration sachets, you or your child keep being sick and cannot keep fluid down, you or your child have bloody diarrhoea or bleeding from the bottom, and/or if you or your child have diarrhoea for more than seven days or vomiting for more than two days.
