Students Under Quarantine Amid Measles Outbreak in Williams County

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(By: Michael Achterling. North Dakota Monitor) – Several Williston-area students are isolating at home after three schools were notified by public health officials of measles exposure on their campuses.

Unvaccinated students at Missouri Ridge Elementary, Williston Middle School and Williston High School were told they need to isolate for 21 days to ensure they were not infected, said Paula Lankford, spokesperson for Williston Basin School District 7.

Health officials  confirmed nine cases of measles in Williams County in northwest North Dakota. the Upper Missouri District Health Unit said, the measles cases are considered part of an outbreak because health officials believe community spread is occurring without direct contact with known carriers of the illness.

Four people diagnosed with measles were in Williston schools while infectious, according to the North Dakota Department of Health and Human Services.