ONE ward at Hereford County Hospital has been closed to visitors due to a confirmed case of Norovirus.

Visiting to the Gilwern ward has been closed as a preventative measure to halt the further spread of the virus which is affecting some patients.

Alison Johnson, consultant microbiologist at Wye Valley NHS Trust, said: “We’ve had to close the ward to visitors to help lessen the chance of the spread of diarrhoea and vomiting to both patients and visitors and other areas of the hospital.”

She added that these kinds of outbreak come from within the community and are often seen at this time of year.

“It’s very important that any visitors or outpatients with diarrhoea and/or vomiting do not visit any of our hospitals until they have been free of symptoms for 48 hours,” she said.

“Visitors to all areas of hospitals are requested to practice good hand hygiene and use the alcohol gels available in all wards/departments in order to prevent any further spread of infection.”

People are urged to only visit the hospital if they really need to.