Eighty-one cases, including 65 residents and 16 staff members, of the gastro intestinal illness were reported at the Country Villa Novato Healthcare Center since Nov. 10, said Shanna Cronan, senior public health nurse with the Communicable Disease Prevention and Control program in the Marin County Department of Health and Human Services.
Visitors and admissions to the facility at 1565 Hill Road had been prohibited since Nov. 15, Cronan said.
The health department lifted restrictions as of Wednesday night at 10:30 p.m., center administrators said.
The illness that also can include abdominal cramps, low fever and diarrhea typically lasts 24 to 48 hours, Cronan said.
Center officials said the illness has no long-term health effects.
The health department's decision to lift restrictions could not have come with better timing, said Darron Treude, the healthcare center's administrator in a statement Wednesday.
"...This will provide the opportunity for our residents and their families and friends to be together for the Thanksgiving celebration," he said.
