Status: Active
Date issued: 21 February 2023
Issued by: Associate Professor Deborah Friedman, Deputy Chief Health Officer (Communicable Disease)
Issued to: Childcare providers, parents with children in early childhood education, the Victorian community.
Key messages
- Parents and carers are urged to keep young children at home if they are sick amid a rise in outbreaks of viral gastroenteritis in Victorian childcare centres.
- Symptoms can take up to three days to develop and usually last one to two days, sometimes longer, and often include vomiting and diarrhoea.
- Anyone experiencing vomiting or diarrhoea should not attend work, childcare, kindergarten, camps or any other group activities until at least 48 hours after their symptoms have disappeared.
- Washing hands with soap and water is one of the most effective ways to prevent the spread of infection.
- Be vigilant for symptoms of gastroenteritis in children and reinforce basic hygiene measures.
- Read the full advisory: Increase in gastroenteritis outbreaks in childcare
