Chipotle Temporarily Closes Several Locations After E.Coli Scare

Locations in Washington and Oregon volunteered to close temporarily.

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Chipotle enthusiasts in the Washington and Oregon area may have to wait a minute to get their fix. Time reports that the beloved chain has temporarily closed 43 stores in the wake of an E.coli outbreak that left eight people hospitalized.

Health officials say there were no casualties, and that they haven’t determined where exactly the contamination came from. “While the outbreak appears to be linked to food served at Chipotle restaurants, the food or other source of contamination hasn’t yet been determined and remains under investigation,” the Department of Health said.

However, there’s no need to panic. Chipotle spokesman Chris Arnold added that the precautions were taken because of the company’s primary concern for customer safety. “We immediately closed all of our restaurants in the area out of an abundance of caution, even though the vast majority of these restaurants have no reported problems.”

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