Two rooms at the Canada Winter Games athletes' village were vacated by Yukon athletes early to make room for other athletes dealing with a stomach virus, Games manager Chris Morrissey has confirmed.

Toward the end of the Games' second week, there were athletes showing signs of a stomach virus, both Morrissey and Bryce Larke, the Yukon's chief medical health officer, noted in separate interviews this morning.

Laboratory results are still being awaited to confirm the virus, Larke said.

Preventative measures, including the installation of additional hand-washing stations, were also put in place to reduce the chance of the illness spreading among the 1,800 athletes competing in the Games and staying at the village.

'Our main message was, wash your hands,'' Larke said.

Volunteers were also asked to be extra-vigilant in wiping down doorknobs, phones and other commonly-used items throughout the Games' venues, Morrissey said.

'It was again, a preventative measure,' he explained.

While he didn't have exact figures on the number of athletes or Games officials impacted by the bug, reports of it from the village's health clinic seemed high toward the end of the week before it trailed off on Saturday.

'It did peak on Thursday,' Morrissey said of the number of reports.

Larke noted it would be near-impossible not to find the symptoms elsewhere in the country so there wasn't a major concern of athletes, coaches and officials spreading the illness when they return home.

'It's just that kind of winter,' he said.

It's been a 'bumper' year for norovirus reports across Canada this winter, he said.

The Copper Ridge Place extended care facility is still under visitation restrictions as staff deal with it, he said. He's hopeful that restriction can be lifted soon.

And laboratories across the country have been swamped with samples, such as the five sent in from last week.

Vomiting and diarrhea were among the symptoms of the illness being experienced at the village last week.

In the first week of the Games, there were three confirmed cases of influenza, which differs from the virus seen in the second week of competition.

The influenza is more of a respiratory problem with symptoms like a sore throat and headaches.

One athlete from the Atlantic provinces arrived with it in the first week of competition.

'Clearly, it is that time of year,' Larke said, though he noted it was somewhat late coming throughout the country.

Influenza typically shows up around Christmas time, rather than February and March, when it came this year.

Throughout the Games, Larke worked to ensure reports came in daily from Whitehorse General Hospital and the athletes' village to keep an eye out for any illness running throughout he community.