Or so it seems.

CBS is reporting that almost 700 students, about 14% of the district, missed school today due to gastro illnesses that appear to be from norovirus, according to CBS News.

Superintendent Danny Holloman said there were 668 absences in the district Thursday, or 14 percent of the student population. Most of the absences came from Person High School, where more than 300 students stayed home.

Holloman said it’s not known how many students are actually sick and how many stayed home as a precaution.

CBS Raleigh affiliate WRAL reports Holloman realized something was going around just before lunch time yesterday, when large numbers of students were going home sick.

According to the Person County Health Department, a local doctor’s office experienced a similar situation with several patients and staff members coming down with virus-like symptoms last week. The North Carolina Division of Public Health asked that samples be collected from students to use for testing. The samples will be tested for both norovirus and other enteric pathogens, officials said.