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UPDATE 2:23 p.m.

The outbreak at Vernon Jubilee Hospital could be over by Friday.

On Monday, Interior Health declared an outbreak of gastrointestinal illness, but said if no new cases are reported by the end of the week, the outbreak will be considered over.

According to IH officials, the impacted area is limited to the inpatient psychiatry unit, causing six patients and two staff members to become sick,

Hospital staff are following guidelines outlined in the Interior Health Outbreak Management Response Plan, which include:

• Closing admissions to the impacted unit
• Closing the central dining area in the impacted unit
• Signage posted at hospital and impacted unit entrances
• Patient nursing care delivered in their rooms
• Enhanced environmental cleaning
• Rescheduling of group activities during outbreak

To prevent the spread of the virus, if you have any GI symptoms do not visit the hospital as a visitor.

Frequent hand-washing is the best tool to fight the spread of illness.

A stomach bug has arrived at Vernon Jubilee Hospital.

A gastrointestinal illness outbreak is being reported at the hospital's inpatient psychiatry unit.

It is not yet clear how many people have been affected.

According to the Interior Health website, the outbreak was declared Monday.

Gastrointestinal illness can cause a variety of symptoms including nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, muscle aches, headache, weakness, low- grade fever or a combination of these symptoms.

Gastrointestinal illnesses are spread from person to person through stool or vomit of infected people. People can become infected by eating contaminated food or touching contaminated surfaces and then placing their hands in their mouth.

These micro organisms can live on surfaces such as countertops, doorknobs and toilet seats, so can easily be spread when a person touches something contaminated.

IH advises people to wash their hands frequently to combat the ailment.