Staff returns to Seminole County school after norovirus outbreak

SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. – Seminole County Public Schools said all staff at Sterling Park Elementary were expected to return to the school on Tuesday after an outbreak of the Norovirus.

Parents and children lined out the door of the school on Tuesday for the school's "Meet the Teacher" event. The event was supposed to take place on Monday, but rescheduled to today in order to allow crews to clean the building, and also for staff to return.

"When they go to the school, it will probably smell like a it's hospital. It will be that clean," said district spokesperson Michael Lawrence.

The district said up until Tuesday morning, crews have been using high-grade cleaning materials to disinfect the entire building.

"In retrospect, it's better timing for it to occur before the start of the school year than during obviously. It allowed our teachers to recover before the start of the school year," said Lawrence.
 
A parent told News 6 that despite the cleaning efforts, she's still taking precautions.

"I'm going to not touch anything and if I, when I shake hands I'm going to use my sanitizer right away. I'm going to be that crazy OCD parent," said parent Tara Sanders.

Other parents said they feel very confident the school has been sanitized.

"We hope that all the teachers feel better and that everything is good. I know they came in and cleaned it all up, so we trust them. We are not worried," said parent Jessica Quinn.

The first day of the school year is scheduled for Wednesday.