7 Workers At Miami Elementary School Taken To Hospital

MIAMI, FL — Seven more employees of Orchard Villa Elementary School were sickened on Thursday but Miami-Dade school officials said the facility remained open. A similar incident occurred in November. The employees were taken to a hospital.

Miami-Dade School Superintendent Alberto Carvalho said that the workers complained of feeling ill in the kitchen area of the school. The cafeteria was shut down until further notice.

"Students weren't in cafeteria. They will be fed in other areas," Carvalho said on social media. "No student evacuations, school day resumes. Updates forthcoming."

Capt. Ignatius Carroll of Miami Fire Rescue told reporters that the incident occurred just be 10 a.m. but posed no danger to children.

"The cafeteria is an isolated building so it's not connected to the rest of the classrooms," he said. The school is located at 5720 NW 13th Ave., Miami.

"Paramedics arrived to find seven cafeteria employees complaining of nausea and difficulty breathing," according to Carroll. "Since the cause of the symptoms were unknown, the Hazardous Materials Team responded and identified higher than normal levels of carbon monoxide inside of the cafeteria."

The cafeteria employees were preparing for the 10:30 lunch group at the time of the incident. Student breakfast had ended at 8:30 a.m.

"Due to the level of exposure, all the employees were transported to Mercy Hospital for further evaluation," Carroll said. "The school principal closed the cafeteria and coordinated lunch to be delivered to the school for the students."

In the November incident seven school employees were also taken to the hospital after feeling ill while in the kitchen inside the cafeteria at Orchard Villa Elementary School.

A spokeswoman said at the time that the problem appeared to be confined to the school kitchen.

Photo courtesy Miami-Dade County Public Schools