A Chipotle branch in Billerica, Massachusetts remained closed for the second day after an employee tested positive for norovirus.
A total of four employees were suspected to be sick with the stomach bug after they called in sick and could not report for work. However, only one of the four cases was confirmed positive for the highly contagious norovirus according to a USAToday article by Kaja Whitehouse.
Billerica Board of Health Director Richard Berube told USAToday that the store is scheduled to reopen on Thursday provided that the employees who will be manning the store must test negative for norovirus. Berube added that Chipotle has scheduled testing for all employees via stool sample and symptoms questionnaire to comply with this requirement.
This recent development did not sit well with Wall Street which saw the company's share falling sharply on Wednesday. According to CNBC, the company is still reeling from previous food safety incidents like the two E. Coli outbreaks that reportedly affected 50 people across 10 states as well as the two norovirus incidents in California and Massachusetts.
Sterne Agee CRT analyst Lynne Collier told CNBC that the recent norovirus incident would only minimally affect Chipotle. Collier explains that although it was definitely a negative publicity event, the fact that no customer got sick could not be overlooked and is actually a good thing.
The same sentiment is echoed in the most recent Reuters update on this incident by Brian Snyder and Lisa Baertlein. Chipotle was praised for its quick response and its adequate handling of this latest food safety issue. The Chipotle branch's closure was seen as a partial test of the new food safety system that the restaurant chain put in place after last year's E. Coli incidents.
Food safety site barfblog.com publisher Doug Powell points out the fact that workers stayed home are an indication that the new system is now working.
From the Wall Street's point of view, Chipotle did the right thing according to Howard Penney of Hedgeye Risk Management. However, Penney added that it might still take years for the company to return to its peak performance.
