4-3-18

Pupils on school trip remain quarantined in a Washington, D.C., hotel waiting to be told if they can return home after falling ill. British pupils and teachers were on a trip to the United States which turned into a ‘nightmare’ when everyone was struck down by a ‘virulent gastro virus’. A total of 48 pupils and five teachers from Crookhorn College in Waterlooville, near Portsmouth, UK, were struck down with the illness. 

Over 50 British pupils and teachers are rushed to hospitals in Washington, D.C., after falling ill

Source 807 News

UK Pupils on school trip remain quarantined in US hotel after falling ill

Source International News

Pupils on school trip remain quarantined in US hotel waiting to be told if they can return home to the UK after possible food poisoning

• Total of 48 pupils from Crookhorn College in Waterlooville, UK, have fallen ill in US
• Three teachers were also struck down by the gastro virus while in the US
• Nicola Crowle, 16, is understood to be the worst affected and is still in hospital
• Party is meant to be flying back to the UK this evening, but the flight is in doubt

British pupils on a ‘nightmare’ trip to New York and Washington, D.C., remain quarantined in a hotel waiting to be told if they can return home after being struck down by a ‘virulent gastro virus’.

A total of 48 pupils and three teachers from Crookhorn College in Waterlooville, near Portsmouth, UK, were struck down with an illness on what was meant to be a school trip of a lifetime to New York and Washington, D.C.

Parents had forked out £1,400 for their children to attend the trip organised by the school’s head of history. Samuel McGinley.

Upon arriving at their Washington, D.C., hotel, on the second leg of their visit in the US, all of the pupils and teachers starting to complain of feeling ill. The Year 11 pupils are quarantined at the Harrington Hotel in D.C., having been discharged from local hospitals, and are now waiting to see whether they will be allowed to fly home this evening.

Lisa Jennings, 39, whose daughter Tia, 15, is holed up in the hotel, told MailOnline: ‘It’s been a nightmare. She flew out on Thursday to New York City. It was Tia’s first time going to America and she’d been waiting two years to go. The head of history [Mr McGinley] had planned a full itinerary but they were only able to do one thing on that list and that was to go to the Twin Towers memorial on the Friday.

‘On Thursday night she went to Planet Hollywood with her classmates and teachers.

‘We had a FaceTime conversation the following morning when she told us she wasn’t feeling well. She then got worse during the day and the group started dropping like flies. I haven’t got a clue what they ate.

The group departed New York City, and arrived in Washington, D.C., where they began exhibiting signs of extreme illness and requiring emergency care.

‘Tia went to hospital on Friday evening at 9:00 pm with a temperature and complete nausea. She was very upset and distressed.

‘She was very sick on Friday. She was then taken back to hospital on Saturday evening as she couldn’t eat or drink anything. 

‘She’s now out of hospital and has been quarantined at the Harrington Hotel in Washington, D.C. 

‘We are waiting to hear whether she will be able to fly home later today. She just wants to come home.’ 

Nicola Crowle, 16, is still on a drip and faces an anxious wait to see if she will be passed as fit to fly home today.

Her mother Susan, 56, said the ‘distressed and very upset’ teenager is the only one of the party still in hospital.

Speaking exclusively to MailOnline, her worried mother, Mrs. Crowle, said: ‘She had only been there a day and she felt so ill that paramedics had to be called to treat her.

‘She was taken straight to hospital and she was there for two days.

Her trip has been completely ruined. 

‘She’s FaceTimed us every day, but she’s still been hospitalized. She’s back on the drips again now and it’s very distressing for everyone. 

‘We’ve had to save up from the start to send her, so it’s just heartbreaking.’

Mrs Crowle added: ‘She’s very, very distressed.

‘Nicola is extremely upset and that’s made us upset because we’re just sat here feeling helpless – we don’t have the money to just fly out to see her.’

She and Nicola’s father Mark, 57, are now waiting to see whether their daughter will be allowed to fly home on schedule.

Medics said some in the group began feeling ill while visiting New York but decided to push ahead with the next stage of their trip to D.C. before seeking medical attention. 

Vito Maggiolo, District of Columbia Fire and EMS spokesman, said the first call came in around 7:00 pm from the Harrington Hotel, close to the White House.

‘From there it was a slowly escalating incident,’ he said.

Initially 12 teens and one adult were taken to the hospital in a stable condition before the whole group was taken in as a precaution.

 A spokesman for the hotel said the group arrived sick having traveled from New York and wished them a speedy recovery

Hotel Harrington staff said the group arrived sick and immediately decided to go to the hospital.

Officials from the D.C. Department of Health, D.C. Department of Energy and Environment and the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene are said to be investigating. 

A spokesperson for Crookhorn College said: ‘The college trip to the USA comprising of 48 students and five teachers have been struck by a virulent gastro virus that has affected most of the party during their time in New York and Washington, D.C..

‘The main priority since the outbreak of the virus has been the safety and welfare of the students and staff and keeping the families in this country informed of events.

‘All members of the trip are now well into recovery and are being kept under observation at their hotel in Washington.

‘An additional member of staff has flown in to join the group and give assistance to the recovering staff who are there and further support to the students.

‘The staff who are in the US have done the most amazing job at looking after the children and the College has had fantastic support in this country from Hampshire County Council.

‘Our main priority now is to ensure that all the students and staff get home safe and well.’

SOURCE DAilyMail

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