Norovirus numbers on decline

By Rachel Stengel

As of Thursday afternoon, the total number of norovirus cases is 224, according to Dan Higgins, executive director of University Communications.
Since the last University Communications update to the Rider community on Feb. 27, five more students have contracted the norovirus. All of the cases were reported to Student Health Services and none were transported to the hospital, Higgins said.
The Student Health Center returned to normal hours of operation Feb. 27 as a result of the declining number of cases, according to Higgins. A nurse will be on-call for 24-hours in the event students require treatment. Students can call Public Safety who will facilitate communication between students and the on-call nurse.
Also, Conover Hall’s lounge will continue to act as a backup area for student treatment until Spring Break, according to Dean of Students Anthony Campbell.
The length of the virus’ stay at Rider is still unknown.
“We were told when [the norovirus] started that this can take several weeks to wane,” Higgins said. “We just have to monitor the numbers [of students infected] and they’ve been in declining over the past several days and weeks.”