May 20, 2024
By Karen Very
Dozens of people who worked or ate at San Luis Obispo’s Luna Red Restaurant last week contracted norovirus, according to staff.
The restaurant was temporarily closed but reopened Sunday, with employees wearing gloves. The virus is highly contagious and symptoms appear immediately after contact with contaminated people, food, or surfaces. Symptoms include diarrhea, vomiting, muscle pain, chills, abdominal pain, and fever.
Norovirus is commonly spread by people who touch or prepare food while sick, and in some cases by food that comes from contaminated water.
San Luis Obispo County Health Department staff initially told reporters to call another department because the infection was food-related. However, Department of Environmental Health staff said the outbreak was not food-related and asked them to call the department’s epidemiologist.
Epidemiologist Jesse Burmester would not say whether the county is investigating the outbreak, but asked a spokesperson to contact him.
