2/10/2006
Half-term holidays have started early for some children in Birmingham and the Black Country as a sickness bug continues to close schools.
More than 30 sites in Birmingham and Sandwell have been closed at some point but these numbers have fallen. Eight schools were closed on Friday.
Schools have remained closed for up to three days in a bid to stop Norovirus and winter sickness spreading.
Most schools are on half-term holidays next week.
The break is expected to help ease the problems, with most sites expected to open as normal on 20 February.
Sickness moving south
The eight Birmingham schools closed on Friday were: Tame Valley Primary, Princethorpe Junior, St Saviour’s C.E Primary, Anglesey Primary, Kingstanding Special, Four Dwellings Primary, Westminster Primary and James Brindley School.
Sufferers complain of nausea, high fevers and tiredness.
The council advised that children can return to school when they have had no diarrhoea or vomiting for 48 hours
Other primary schools in Shropshire, Staffordshire and some Black Country boroughs have reported high levels of sickness.
But the latest school closures have been further south – in Gloucestershire, Hampshire and Devon.