Boston College now says 120 students reporting illnesses

“We urge residents to take proper precautions to prevent the spread of illness, which include: washing your hands regularly, avoiding close contact or sharing food and drink with others who might be ill, and staying home if you are ill”, the Boston commission said in a statement, announcing initial results.

The number of Boston College students who became sick after eating at Chipotle has now risen to triple digits, CBS Boston reports.

The illnesses led to the temporary closure of the restaurant in the city’s Cleveland Circle neighborhood.

College health services originally tested for both E. coli and norovirus under direction of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health.

“It last for about two days and it’s vomiting and diarrhea”.

Chipotle closed the location in order to clean it and determine what caused the illness to spread. He said the restaurant’s permit to operate has been suspended by the city and that a disinfection process has begun.

In an email, Chipotle Spokesman Chris Arnold wrote, “We offer our sincerest apologies to people who were impacted by this incident”.

Officials at Boston College said almost all the students sickened confirmed they had eaten at the Chipotle restaurant over the weekend. First, officials linked it to an E. coli outbreak that has sickened 52 people in multiple states. The first cases were reported at the end of October in OR and Washington, with additional cases being reported later.

“Norovirus is usually transmitted from the feces to the mouth, either by drinking contaminated food or water or by passing from person to person”, according to Foodborne Illness.

That outbreak was the company’s third food safety incident since August. Most of those cases were in the Pacific Northwest, but several occurred on the East Coast in New York, Pennsylvania and Maryland.

Executives said the chain may eventually raise prices to make up for its food safety investments.

In its annual report, Chipotle has noted that it may be at a higher risk for outbreaks of food-borne illnesses because of its “fresh produce and meats rather than frozen, and our reliance on employees cooking with traditional methods rather than automation”.

Chipotle shares fell $8.75, or 1.6 percent, to $543 in afternoon trading Tuesday.

Dan Hausle of Channel 7 news is reporting that “most ate ate Chipotle”.