At least one staff member of the California GOP at the Republican National Convention has fallen ill with what appears to be the norovirus, or the cruise ship virus, according to a state party warning emailed to the delegation early Tuesday.
Some delegates and other party guests have pinned the number as a handful up to a dozen, according to multiple sources.
The stomach bug, which has gained notoriety in recent years for making hundreds of people wrenchingly ill aboard cruise ships, typically occurs in crowded settings such as day cares and nursing homes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It affects 19 to 21 million people in the United States annually.
The symptoms – stomach pain, nausea, vomiting, fever and diarrhea – are generally short-lived but can cause death, according to the CDC. Norovirus, a collection of gastrointestinal viruses, is highly contagious.
The 550 delegates, alternates and guests were advised by the California GOP to avoid shaking hands with others, to wash hands frequently, to avoid sharing food and to not use the delegation buses to the convention if they have any symptoms, according to the delegation email.
Over the weekend, staffers were seen frequently using small bottles of hand sanitizer. By Monday night, large towers of hand sanitizer had been placed at a delegation party at the Kalahari Resort in Sandusky, Ohio, where the state party is staying during the convention. The hotel, home to the nation's largest indoor water park, is an hour from the convention in Cleveland.
State party officials did not respond to questions early Tuesday about how many people were sick, whether they were quarantined and how the affected staffer caught the virus.
