Virginia Department of Health officials say there have been 130 norovirus outbreaks throughout the state since Nov. 1.
That includes 40 outbreaks in the central Virginia region. About 70 percent of the outbreaks have been in long-term care facilities. The highly contagious gastrointestinal illness causes diarrhea, vomiting and stomach cramps.
Two Richmond-area facilities — Lakewood Manor retirement community and Beaufont Towers — are recovering from outbreaks and expect to remove visitation restrictions soon.
The Hermitage, a retirement community on Westwood Avenue in Richmond, was not allowing visitors at its health-care center yesterday because of illness among residents, but staff did not yet have a confirmation of norovirus.