Prince George's County elementary school closes after illness outbreak sickens dozens

It began this hour in Prince George's County where a school was forced to close because of an illness outbreak. Yeah, officials there say dozens of students and staff members have become sick in the past week. Our Melanie Olmick live in Camp Springs this morning in Maryland and she joins us with the latest details. Mel, what's happening out there? Hey, good morning. So out here in front of Princeton Elementary, members of Prince George's County Public Schools central office staff are out here in case any parents didn't get the message. The message came out late last night that the school would be closed for a deep cleaning. They even had to send away the Scholastic School Book Fair truck that just pulled up here to say, sorry, no school is going to happen this week. So here's what's going on. To date, 48 students and 16 staff have come down with what's described as influenza-like and gastroenteritis-like symptoms, such as fever and vomiting. Prince George's County Public Schools consulted with the health department and made the decision to close, not only to do a comprehensive deep cleaning and sanitation of the school building, but to also allow the potentially infectious period to pass. The Department of Health has not yet specifically identified the virus, though flu activity is generally low right now in Maryland and across the U.S. It is on the rise. Maryland's flu test positivity has more than doubled from this time last year. Virginia also reporting more flu-related emergency room visits. Health officials are raising concerns about a new mutation of the flu virus and urging people to get their flu shots early. So, of course, the health department is asking families to keep anyone who is showing symptoms or sick at home and out of the wider community. And also, whether it's the flu virus, whether it is a norovirus or something else, the same advice goes. Practice handwashing, cover coughs and sneezes and sanitize those surfaces and don't share drinks and utensils. We'll send it back to you guys.