Chief Health Officer Dr. Heather Morrison says her office has recently heard from people who were sick the weekend of Aug. 28.Chief Health Officer Dr. Heather Morrison says her office has recently heard from people who were sick the weekend of Aug. 28. (CBC)

The Stanhope Beach Resort on P.E.I.'s North Shore is closing down for the season about a month earlier than usual.

The resort is undergoing cleaning and disinfection after recent outbreaks of norovirus. Close to 300 people who attended weddings there reported becoming ill in August and early September. The resort has been shut down since the first week of September, and just announced it will not be reopening this year.

Paul Murphy, VP of finance and corporate counsel with D.P. Murphy Inc, the company that owns the resort, said the resort is doing its best to accommodate previously scheduled events at other locations.

Murphy doesn't believe the events of the past month will hurt business at the resort in the long term.

"I don't think it will have a negative impact," he said.

"Islanders understand these things can happen to any business, and I know they will support us next season when we re-open."

Murphy said staff of the resort were notified of the early closure over the past few days.

More reports of illness

A boil water advisory is in effect at the resort after a small amount of E. coli was found in wells at the resort.

Dr. Heather Morrison, the province's chief health officer, said the E. coli found was not enough to make people ill, and norovirus is still considered to be the source of the reported illnesses at the resort.

Morrison's office is also beginning to hear from more people who said they became sick after visiting Stanhope Beach Resort.

In early September the public health office was aware of two separate outbreaks: one on the weekend of Aug. 18 involving about 60 people and another Labour Day weekend that affected about 230.

Morrison said health officials have now heard from some people who say they had become ill in between those two larger outbreaks.

"We had no reports of illness from either the resort or from individuals calling us in between those two weeks," she said.

"Subsequent to the second outbreak we did have a few calls come in and report that they had either eaten at the restaurant or attended an event [and] had been sick, but did not make any connection until they heard about the outbreak."

Testing wasn't done on those people.