Stomach illness outbreak in Yosemite impacts 170 people

FILE PHOTO: Yosemite experienced an outbreak of a stomach illness among employees and visitors in January 2020. FILE PHOTO: Yosemite experienced an outbreak of a stomach illness among employees and visitors in January 2020. Photo: Amy Huang / EyeEm/Getty Images/EyeEm Photo: Amy Huang / EyeEm/Getty Images/EyeEm Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Stomach illness outbreak in Yosemite impacts 170 people 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

An outbreak of a stomach illness continues to impact visitors and employees at Yosemite, and on Thursday the national park said it has received reports from 170 people who experienced gastrointestinal issues.

While there have been only two confirmed cases of norovirus, the park said in a statement, "The overwhelming majority of the reported cases are consistent with norovirus."

Norovirus is a highly contagious virus causing vomiting and diarrhea and can spread easily in confined places with large groups of people such as schools and cruise ships.

The park said in a statement that the height of the outbreak occurred in the first week in January and while cases are continuing to pop up, the rate of occurrence has significantly declined in recent days.

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"Yosemite National Park officials and medical professionals with the National Park Service Office of Public Health (OPH) are continuing to investigate the circumstances surrounding the illness and are continuing to conduct interviews with affected people," the park said in a statement.

SFGATE first covered the outbreak last week and reported that federal health officials were thoroughly inspecting the park's food service facilities and Aramark, the operator of the restaurants and hotels, and conducted an "extensive clean-up and disinfection."

Amy Graff is a digital editor with SFGATE. Email her: agraff@sfgate.com.