Community Corner
Chipotle Norovirus: Three Workers Were Ill; Store to Reopen Thursday
The Board of Health said the employees did not work while sick, and that the Billerica location is safe to reopen.
BOSTON, MA - The number of suspected cases of norovirus at the Chiptole in Billerica rose to three, but health officials say the food establishment is safe to reopen Thursday after all food employees have been screened for the illness.
The Billerica Board of Health announced in a statement Wednesday that the three employees did not work while ill. Chipotle voluntarily closed Tuesday and workers began sanitizing the store.
A follow-up inspection conducted Wednesday by the Board of Health was satisfactory, and Chipotle was informed they would be allowed to resume operations Thursday.
The Massachusetts Department of Public Health was made aware of the illnesses, the statement said.
A Billerica High student who contracted norovirus was absent Wednesday, but it was unclear if it was connected to the Chipotle illnesses.
The closing of the restaurant came one month to the day after Chipotle restaurants nationwide shutdown for safety training following separate outbreaks of E. coli and norovirus at stores in serveral states around the country.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention declared the Chipotle E. coli outbreak over on February 1, but the center said that the cause of the outbreak was unknown. The CDC told Patch at the time that the center was not investigating any norovirus outbreaks.
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