In a recent development, hundreds of students in a school in Lincang City, Yunnan Province, sought medical treatment for symptoms like abdominal pain and vomiting. According to official reports, 121 primary school students were confirmed to be infected with the Norovirus, prompting concerns from parents.
Recently, there have been reports online by netizens alleging that many children at Yicheng Experimental School in Lincang City, Yunnan Province, have been experiencing symptoms such as vomiting and diarrhea, leading to suspicions of food poisoning. Videos shared online showed parents taking students to hospitals, with some students experiencing persistent vomiting and receiving intravenous drips. At the scene, at least two police officers were present to maintain order.
Three days after the incident, on January 3, the relevant authorities in Lincang City’s Linxiang District reported that on December 31, 2024, multiple students from Yicheng Experimental School (primary department) sought medical attention for symptoms of abdominal pain, nausea, and vomiting. As of now, there have been a total of 121 suspected cases of Norovirus infection.
The report stated that after testing, all sampled food items showed negative results for Norovirus and bacterial indicators. Samples of rice, cooking oil, milk, apples, eggs, soy sauce, and other items from the school were found to be in compliance with safety standards.
This report has raised questions among parents. Some parents expressed online that “it’s not related to the virus; the students from grades one, three, and four in the first canteen are the ones affected. If it were a virus, it wouldn’t distinguish between canteens and grade levels. It’s a bacterial infection, i.e., food poisoning.” Another netizen also stated, “Parents of students from grades two and six who ate at the second canteen didn’t have issues. The affected students are from other grades who ate at the first canteen. Isn’t this significant?” Some commented, “Those who didn’t eat the school meals didn’t get sick; think about it yourself.” “It’s the rice noodles from the second canteen that caused this; please release the test results for the rice noodles.”
Furthermore, some individuals mentioned, “My nephew said they ate fried rice noodles; his classmate vomited immediately after eating. The hospital test results in the morning showed food poisoning, but by the evening tests, it turned into Norovirus infection.” “This is food poisoning for us; what Norovirus? It’s ridiculous; the parents are going crazy.”
In response to queries from netizens, some parents stated, “It’s not just 121 students; there’s a WeChat group with over four hundred parents, and more are continuously being added. But then it was forcefully disbanded. They suppressed us locals; just a mention of Norovirus was enough to shut it down.”
A netizen remarked, “In such a significant event, if it’s food poisoning, everyone will be affected. If it’s Norovirus, it’s simply a matter of poor food control. Just catch a few rats; there’s no need to go after the big cats.”
A netizen from Jiangsu sarcastically commented, “Norovirus is quite clever; in my son’s school, 90% of the students had Norovirus before, but not a single teacher.”