MRLA offering free norovirus cleanup kits to restaurants
(CBS DETROIT) - If you get hit with a food-borne illness might find yourself at an urgent center, but the Michigan Restaurant and Lodging Association is working to keep you from falling victim to the norovirus.
The group is pushing a new campaign called, "Say No to Norovirus," and restaurants all across the state can request free cleanup kits.
"We are handing out these free Say No to Norovirus kits," said MRLA vice president Amanda Smith. "Everything we need, from booties and protective mask, to a trash bag to take all of this outside at the end and throw it all away. It's here, included in these kits. We have sanitizer, we have absorbent powder. Our box itself is gonna turn into a dust pan and we have a scraper to clean this all up."
The MRLA has 1,000 kits available and you don't have to be a member to get one.
Click here to submit your request.
Wayne State University infectious disease professor Dr. Teen Chopra says there are steps you can take to slow the spread, starting with proper food prep.
"When you are eating oysters or shell fish, you really want to make sure that they're well cooked," Dr. Chopra said. "Steaming them is not enough because the virus doesn't get killed with the steam alone. It needs a temperature of at least 145 degrees Fahrenheit, and if you're sick with nausea and vomiting, which are typical signs and symptoms within the first 12 hours, you want to stay home. You don't want to cook for people when you are sick with norovirus infection."
Dr. Chopra says hand sanitizer won't do the trick.
She says handwashing with warm water and soap for at least 20 seconds is the best method to slow the spread of norovirus.
