Parents in Tokat spent the weekend asking whether schools would close after a wave of illness swept the city. Health facilities began receiving people from the evening of Friday, October 9, with complaints of nausea, vomiting, stomach pain and diarrhea. The surge of patients in the city centre fed speculation that authorities might suspend classes as a precaution. Searches about a school holiday picked up pace as families waited for word ahead of Monday, October 12. The Tokat governor's office broke its silence with a public statement on the situation. The question on everyone's mind was simple: would pupils report to class or get the day off. The cause of the sickness was not immediately clear from the material made available to the public.