In the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, the New Mexico Department of Health said it is seeing multiple outbreaks of norovirus across the state, including in Bernalillo and Santa Fe counties.A doctor who works in the emergency room at UNM Hospital said he’s seeing more and more patients come in with norovirus. And, there’s concern it could add stress to an already stressed medical system.“It’s probably one of the most contagious virus’ that we know of,” said Dr. Jon Femling, emergency medical physician at UNM Hospital.A common, but very contagious virus spreading in some of the most populous counties in the state has the Department of Health sending out an alert.“What we’re seeing across the state, in Bernalillo, Santa Fe, Dona Ana, Grant and Taos counties, we’re seeing an influx of the norovirus,” said David Morgan, a spokesperson for the department.Morgan said the state's seeing a rise in cases that it hasn’t seen in over a year.“Now that people are getting vaccinated, that businesses are able to increase capacity and we’re all able to start getting out in the world a little bit again, we’re starting to see norovirus,” Morgan said.“If you just touch a little bit of it, it’s very likely that you could get infected,” said Dr. Femling. “And, then you’re going to be having nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea and get pretty sick.”Dr. Femling said he’s seeing a lot of it in his patients, and he’s concerned about the potential strain on hospitals.“Close to a quarter to half of my patients have had some of a problem from something like norovirus,” said Dr. Femling. “Anything that spreads to a lot of people that causes more of them to have to come into the hospital on an already stressed system is a big problem… We’ve already had an increase with COVID and now we have an increase with norovirus that really is kind of a one-two punch that we really don’t need right now.”According to NMDOH, the virus easily spreads person-to-person or where there’s a lot of people. Dr. Femling said, for example, you see it on cruise ships and they have to shut the whole ship down, but it’s also common in schools. So, he’s asking parents to be mindful.“If your kids feeling a little bit sick, just keep them home,” Dr. Femling said.Unlike with COVID-19, where we can use hand sanitizer as a preventative measure. With norovirus, he and the DOH said that won’t work - you have to wash your hands.The good news is most people get better in a day or two, but the very young and the elderly could get seriously ill. Again, the symptoms include, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. Doctors say if you feel sick, stay home.