St. Charles high school cancels classes due to stomach virus

ST. CHARLES, Ill. (AP) - A high school in St. Charles has cancelled classes after a widespread stomach virus caused hundreds of absences.

The Daily Herald (http://bit.ly/2iBCTtE ) reports that about 800 of St. Charles East High School's 2,000 students missed class Monday. District 303 spokesman Jim Blaney says the majority of them reported symptoms of a stomach virus.

Classes were cancelled Tuesday after a mass email Monday evening asked parents to respond if their child was healthy and would be attending class. Students will return to school Wednesday at the earliest.

Blaney says all of the district's 17 buildings were cleaned with bleach Monday night after Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officials recommended the method to kill viruses.

District officials became aware of the illness Saturday when 10 of the 14 varsity boys basketball players at the high school became sick overnight.

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Information from: Daily Herald, http://www.dailyherald.com