Health officials say norovirus count from Cleveland Circle Chipotle now at 136

Company executives have outlined steps that a food safety expert and lawyer representing 72 people sickened from eating at Chipotle told the Daily News could transform it into a model of food safety. Seattle suffered the first E. coli cases in July, followed by nearly 100 cases of norovirus – a highly-contagious virus that inflames a person’s stomach or intestines – in California’s Simi Valley the following month. Now, however, a Chipotle restaurant in Boston has infected up to 141 people with norovirus (no relation to E. Coli, although symptoms for both infections are similar), which makes this outbreak one of the worst in history. Sales plummeted by as much as 22 percent as additional cases were reported, and were down 16 percent for all of November. In Boston, the health issues have been related to norovirus.

In what could only have been an extremely hard and awkward appearance on the Today Show, company founder and co-CEO Steve Ellis spoke of planned health and safety enhancements that would ensure no future outbreaks could possibly occur. “The procedures we’re putting in place today are so above industry norms that we are going to be the safest place to eat”.

After receiving reports of multiple cases of gastrointestinal illness among patrons who ate at the Chipotle Mexican Grill in Cleveland Circle, the Boston Public Health Commission, the City of Boston Inspectional Services Department, and the Massachusetts Department of Public Health launched an investigation to determine the cause and the nature of the illness. He also said the company is working with health officials to find the source of illness among Boston College students.

About 48 million people get sick from a foodborne illness each year, according to the CDC. In this message, Ells said, “This was a very unfortunate incident, and I’m deeply sorry that this happened”.

Steven Senne/AP The company is cooperating with several state, local and national health agencies as it tries to assure customers at locations like this Brighton, Mass., location near the campus of Boston College.

Areas to be worked on include safety testing of ingredients, ingredient handling and preparation, employee training and more frequent audits.

Zoback didn’t confirm the number of Boston students affected, but said that there could be more than 20 new cases.

Kallista Images/Getty Images Norovirus virions like these cause vomiting and diarrhea and, in some cases, dehydration, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. I feel awful about that.