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| Wahaca: Hundreds ill due to 'norovirus outbreak' | |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| More than 300 people have fallen ill following a suspected outbreak of norovirus at the Wahaca restaurant chain, Public Health England (PHE) has said. | |
| The Mexican restaurant chain had shut nine branches because of the infection, and four remain closed. | |
| PHE has begun an inquiry after hundreds of staff and customers fell ill. | PHE has begun an inquiry after hundreds of staff and customers fell ill. |
| A spokeswoman for Wahaca apologised to those that had been unwell, saying it was an "unprecedented incident". | |
| Wahaca was founded by 2005 MasterChef winner Thomasina Miers. | Wahaca was founded by 2005 MasterChef winner Thomasina Miers. |
| She said in statement with co-founder Mark Selby: "Last week a number of our staff and customers were struck down by what is suspected to be the winter vomiting bug, norovirus. | |
| "We assessed each case and when it became clear they were not isolated incidents, we got in touch with relevant officials at PHE and Environmental Health Officers." | |
| Deborah Turbitt, London deputy director for health protection for PHE, said the source of the outbreak was yet to be determined. | |
| Affected restaurants | |
| Soho, Oxford Circus and Covent Garden remain closed. The Canary Wharf branch is shut but hopes to re-open on Thursday. | |
| She said: "We have so far been made aware of 205 staff and 160 members of the public reporting illness, however these are unconfirmed cases." | |
| The restaurant chain voluntarily closed the affected restaurants and ensured staff members who had reported illness remained off site until their symptons had ceased for at least 48 hours, the statement said. | |
| "We are incredibly sorry that people have been unwell," it read. | |
| "In the nine years since we first opened Wahaca we have never had such an unprecedented incident, and we are doing everything we can to get to the bottom of how this may have happened." | |
| "I was really cold and profusely sweating" | |
| Simon Twinn ate at Wahaca in Soho, central London, on Saturday night with his girlfriend and some friends. | |
| Speaking to BBC London Radio, he said: "We were fine on Sunday. On Monday I started needing the toilet quite badly to day the least and then vomiting started a few hours afters that. | |
| "I was really cold and profusely sweating. | |
| "We didn't think it was anything to do with the food until later that night my girlfriend started throwing up and getting stomach cramps. | |
| "I contacted my friends and they were going through exactly the same thing." | |
| Norovirus and its symptoms | Norovirus and its symptoms |
| Are you suffering with illness after visiting Wahaca? Email haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk with your experiences. | Are you suffering with illness after visiting Wahaca? Email haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk with your experiences. |
| Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist. You can also contact us in the following ways: | Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist. You can also contact us in the following ways: |
| Or use the form below | Or use the form below |