Chipotle store closed for second day on norovirus fears

NEW YORK — A Chipotle in Billerica, Mass., closed its doors for a second day Wednesday after one of its employees tested positive for the highly contagious norovirus. As many as four employees are suspected to be sick with the stomach bug.

The Chipotle, located just northwest of Boston, first shut its doors Tuesday after word emerged that at least one employee had tested positive for the norovirus, which causes pain, nausea and vomiting. The store is expected to reopen Thursday on the condition that employees who come to work test negative for the virus, Richard Berube, director of the Billerica Board of Health told USA TODAY.

Chipotle will test the employees for the virus via stool sample and symptom questionnaire, Berube said.

The Mexican fast-food chain has been plagued by health issues in recent months, which has weighed on its reputation and stock price. The stock is down 20% during the last 12 months amid reports of norovirus and E.coli outbreaks.

The stock fell more than 5% early Wednesday but recovered somewhat to close at $506.63, which represents a loss of 3.4%.

"We closed the restaurant on Tuesday after four of our employees — none of whom worked while sick — called to say they were at home and not feeling well," Arnold said in an email. "We look forward to opening tomorrow," he said.

But Berube says the store initially opened its doors on Tuesday and only closed them after he sent an inspector to the store because his office was alerted to the potential outbreak by Boston's local television news station WHDH.

Restaurants are not required to notify the Board of Health when workers have contagious illnesses, Berube told USA TODAY. "It probably would have been in their best interest to notify us, considering they had a confirmed case of norovirus," he added.

In January, the company said it was served with a federal grand jury subpoena over its handling of an August norovirus outbreak in California, which sickened more than 200 people, including 18 workers. In February, the chain closed all of its stores for several hours in order to talk to employees about food safety.

Chipotle executives have pledged to improve their food-safety standards in an effort to reduce future outbreaks and instill confidence.

After learning of the health risk from the television news station, the Billerica Board of Health sent an inspector to the Chipotle store, which had already opened for business, Berube said. The inspector discussed closing the store with management, which then voluntarily agreed to close the store and take other precautionary measures, Berube said.

For example, they discarded all the food in the store and cleaned it "from top to bottom," Berube said.

On Wednesday, health inspectors visited the store again. They found the store to be "nice, clean and in great shape,"  Arnold said, a sentiment that was confirmed by Berube. "There are no confirmed customer illnesses connected to this incident," Arnold said.

Follow USA TODAY reporter Kaja Whitehouse on Twitter: @kajawhitehouse