May 20, 2024
By Karen Velley
Dozens of people who worked at or ate at a Luna Red restaurant in San Luis Obispo last week became ill with norovirus, employees said.
The restaurant was temporarily closed, but reopened on Sunday with gloved staff. The virus is highly contagious with people showing symptoms shortly after contact with a person, food or contaminated surface. Symptoms include diarrhea, vomiting, muscle aches, chills, abdominal cramps, and fever.
Norovirus is generally spread by people who touch or prepare food when sick, or sometimes by food that comes from contaminated water.
San Luis Obispo County Health Department officials told a reporter to call another department because the outbreak was food-related. However, local health department staff called the health department epidemiologist because the outbreak was not food-related.
Epidemiologist Jessie Burmester wouldn’t say whether the county was looking into an outbreak, though she asked a public relations person to reach out to her.