Gold Bar restaurant voluntarily closes after several customers take ill

Health district reports not likely La Hacienda responsible for norovirus-like symptoms

By Brandon Macz

La Hacienda voluntarily closed Tuesday night for disinfection after a number of people who had eaten take-out from the Gold Bar restaurant began exhibiting norovirus-like symptoms.

The Snohomish County Health District believes those affected likely came into contact with someone who was already infected with the virus.

“This can happen with cross-contamination of food by the sharing of utensils, using hands to pick-up food, and inadequate hand-washing,” states an April 25 health district news release.

The health district reports a small number of people who were part of an off-site training had eaten at the restaurant at 101 Ninth St. La Hacienda voluntarily closed for cleaning, and reopened on Wednesday.

“We value our customers, and their safety is important to us,” said La Hacienda manager Ramone Lopez in the health district news release. “We did voluntarily close our Gold Bar location on Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning to perform a thorough cleaning, and I’m happy to report that we are now back open for business.”

Often confused for the stomach flu, norovirus can spread quickly, and symptoms include stomach pain, nausea, diarrhea and vomiting due to stomach and/or intestinal inflammation, according to the health district. Symptoms ofter occur 24-48 hours after exposure.

Anyone who thinks they may have been sickened after eating at a restaurant or drinking from a certain water source is asked to contact the district’s Communicable Disease Surveillance at 425-339-5278.

Comments

Use the comment form below to begin a discussion about this content.

Sign in to comment