Dreaded virus lays athletes low, but their London hotel denies it is ground zero
London — The London hotel at the centre of an outbreak of sickness that has struck down scores of competitors at the World Athletics Championships said on Tuesday it was not the source of the illness. Several Botswana, German, Canadian, Irish and Puerto Rican athletes staying at the Tower Hotel, near Tower Bridge, have taken ill over the past few days, with some put into effective quarantine and others forced to miss their events. Thirty German competitors arriving on Tuesday will be moved to other accommodation. Competition organisers said on Monday that the illnesses were a result of gastroenteritis, but public health officials said on Tuesday that laboratory tests confirmed two cases of norovirus among approximately 30 illness victims. Norovirus, sometimes called "the winter vomiting bug", is easily spread, partly because the virus can survive for several days outside the body, Britain’s National Health Service says. It advises sufferers to avoid contact with others for at least ...
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