Hospitals are continuing to battle outbreaks of a highly infectious bug on their wards.

Twineham ward at Princess Royal Hospital in Haywards Heath has been closed to new admissions since Saturday after seven patients fell ill with suspected norovirus.

The ward will be inspected this morning to see when it can reopen.

A bay at Worthing Hospital is also closed after three patients caught a vomiting bug, and a ward at St Richard’s Hospital in Chichester and at Conquest Hospital in St Leonards are also closed after patients developed sickness and diarrhoea.

Norovirus is traditionally more common at this time of year and schools and hospitals have already been affected several times in the last two months.

Chyngton Primary School in Seaford and Tideway School in Newhaven both closed early for Christmas after scores of pupils and staff were off sick with the bug or a flu-type virus.

48-hour warning

The advice for people with symptoms is to stay away from work, school or college until you have been free of symptoms for at least 48 hours.

Do not handle or prepare food for other people until you have been symptom-free for 48 hours, and avoid visiting friends or relatives in hospitals or residential care homes in order to avoid introducing the infection to environments where it could spread easily and put vulnerable people at greater risk.

Most people should recover naturally without treatment, but it |is important to rest and take plenty of clear fluids to avoid dehydration.

If your symptoms persist or appear to be worsening, call your GP or NHS Direct on 0845 4647.

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