Oregon school closes after 'flu-like symptoms' sicken nearly half of staff

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Nearly half of the staff at an Oregon school called out sick this week, forcing the school to close for two days.

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Oak Grove Academy in Gales Creek was closed on Wednesday and Thursday after 11 of the 30 staff members at the school called out with “flu-like symptoms,” Fox 12 reports. There was some suspicion the sickness could have been norovirus, a highly contagious stomach bug, but this was not confirmed.

School officials said 11 of the 30 staff members were out sick with "flu-like symptoms." (iStock)

The school was cleaned and sanitized while students and staff were away. According to a notice posted to the school’s website, Oak Grove re-opened on Friday.

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The news comes after an entire school district in Colorado shuttered shortly before Thanksgiving due to a suspected norovirus outbreak. At the time, the Mesa County Valley School District 51 — the 14th largest in Colorado with more than 22,000 students — announced it was closing its more than 40 schools until after Thanksgiving break due to the gastrointestinal illness.