Quarry Bank Mill closed for deep clean due to high level of staff illness

quarry

Quarry Bank Mill is currently closed until further notice due to a high level of staff illness.

Public Health England North West's Cheshire and Merseyside health protection team and Cheshire East Council are investigating an outbreak of diarrhoea and vomiting linked to Quarry Bank which has been reported by a number of National Trust Employees.

A spokesperson for the National Trust said "Due to a high level of illness among National Trust staff we have made the decision ourselves to close Quarry Bank and investigations are underway into what has caused it. At this stage it's not possible to pinpoint the exact source of the illness, or determine whether it originated at Quarry Bank.

"We are working closely with the local environmental health officer to support them in their investigations. We want to do all that we can to look after our visitors, staff and volunteers, and while we understand people will be disappointed by the closure, we won't reopen until we are completely satisfied that everything is back to normal."

Rita Huyton, Acting Nurse Consultant from PHE's North West Centre, said: "We are working closely with a number of local partners to establish the cause of the illness. At this stage it's not possible to pinpoint exactly the source of the illness, or determine whether it originated at Quarry Bank, and further investigation is ongoing. The National Trust at Quarry Bank took the decision to close the property as a precaution. We are working with the management team at Quarry Bank and a number of other partners who are fully supporting the investigation.

"Generally, people who have symptoms of diarrhoea and vomiting should stay away from school, work or university until they have been free of symptoms for 48 hours. Everyone should be encouraged to practice good hand hygiene and wash hands thoroughly and regularly at all times, but particularly after using the toilet and before eating."

The National Trust does not anticipate the site in Styal will reopen until Saturday, 9th March, at the earliest.

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Quarry Bank Mill
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Comments

Here's what readers have had to say so far. Why not add your thoughts below.

Terry Roeves
Tuesday 5th March 2019 at 9:32 am
Let’s hope Styal reopens soon - an excellent NT property of great enjoyment in so many ways.
David Pearce
Tuesday 5th March 2019 at 5:13 pm
'Trouble up mill' - hopefully not for too long
Laurie Atterbury
Thursday 7th March 2019 at 8:42 am
Congratulations to the NT for their prompt action and let’s wish all affected a speedy recovery so that we can continue to enjoy this special local attraction.
The article does not refer to any visitors bring affected so hopefully the action taken has minimised this.
Marcia McGrail
Thursday 7th March 2019 at 10:18 am
Basic hand hygiene goes a long way to preventing gastric outbreaks but can be sadly lacking in modern culture.