Nineteen students at a high school in Vietnam’s Central Highlands province of Gia Lai were hospitalized on Sunday with symptoms of diarrhea, vomiting, and slight fever after a meal at the school a day earlier, a local official said on Monday.

The 19 students were among the nearly 400 people, including both teachers and students, who had the meal at Chi Lang High School in Pleiku City, Gia Lai Province.

Nguyen Van Dang, head of the provincial food safety agency, said the agency had reported the case to the Department of Health.

In particular, the 19 students were taken to the Hoang Anh Gia Lai - University Medical Center on Sunday.

One of them was discharged from the hospital on the same day.

The remaining 18 patients are all in stable condition and have been gradually released from the hospital, said a leader of the Hoang Anh Gia Lai - University Medical Center.

The hospital has taken specimens for testing to uncover the cause of the incident.

According to the Gia Lai food safety agency, there is not enough evidence to conclude that this was a food poisoning case.

Do Bach Khoa, principal of Chi Lang High School, informed that the school’s meal preparation was careful, and it stored food samples every day.

The school is waiting for conclusions about the cause of the incident from the competent authorities.

The school’s kitchen is still operating as normal pending the investigation results.

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