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North Carolina school district starts investigating after students fall ill on buses

A North Carolina school district says it’s investigating why several of its students became sick during afternoon school bus trips home.

In separate incidents Friday and Monday, first responders at the Millers Ferry department in Rowan County checked the blood carbon monoxide levels of students about 22 minutes after they boarded afternoon buses from Hanford Dole Elementary.

Several students and the driver were sick on the bus Friday afternoon, WBTV reported. On Monday, three students complained about feeling sick when the bus stopped at the fire department, Rowan-Salisbury Schools said in a message to parents. Two of the three students were transported Monday to the hospital in Salisbury for treatment, said Rowan County Emergency Services Chief Allen Cress.

The two incidents involved different buses on the same route, said Michelle Shue, communications director for Rowan-Salisbury Schools. The Salisbury Post reported the students who felt sick sat near the back of the bus.

Millers Ferry Assistant Chief Bobby Fox told WBTV students had elevated carbon monoxide levels on Friday. One student was vomiting out of the window and another was “more or less passed out on the floor,” Fox told WBTV.

Cress said students on Monday also had higher than normal carbon monoxide levels. But the school system said it didn’t find emission issues on either bus. Carbon monoxide readings on the buses Friday and Monday were normal, the district said.

Students from Hanford Dole Elementary Schools were evaluated for elevated carbon monoxide levels in separate incidents Friday and Monday. So far, the school district isn’t sure what’s causing students to become ill.
Students from Hanford Dole Elementary Schools were evaluated for elevated carbon monoxide levels in separate incidents Friday and Monday. So far, the school district isn’t sure what’s causing students to become ill.

All students are OK after receiving treatment, Cress said.

Rowan-Salisbury Schools told parents it planned to have a staff member ride the route Tuesday to “monitor any issues that may be occurring.”

Shue said staff members also are evaluating whether the students were exposed to carbon monoxide before boarding the bus and testing the buses while idling.

“We are committed to discovering all potential causes for these medical emergencies in these past two days,” Rowan-Salisbury Schools said in its message to parents. “We are working with several organizations to investigate and plan steps moving forward.”

Shue declined to answer whether the cause of student illness is the flu, COVID-19 or another virus spreading inside the school.

Cress said Rowan County Emergency Services has “not pin-pointed anything so far” when asked if his agency would suggest specific fixes for Rowan-Salisbury Schools.