No quiero Taco Bell - not with E. coli, at least.
All 15 city Taco Bells voluntarily closed Wednesday after an E. coli breakout near Philadelphia. It is unknown when the local eateries will resume business.
The closings included the Taco Bell located in Penn's Food Court at 34th and Walnut streets.
A manager at that Taco Bell - who requested anonymity due to store policy - said he expects the restaurant to reopen in a couple of days, adding that he has to wait until "everything settles down."
The "restaurant is totally okay," he said.
Philadelphia Department of Public Health spokesman Jeff Moran said he does not know when the Taco Bells will be advised to reopen their doors.
And with the restaurant's unexpected closing, some students have been left clamoring for their daily chalupa.
"I'm sad because Taco Bell is cheap and delicious," College junior Haidee Wong said. "I hope everything works out and we get it back."
"I'm sure they can find substitutes for the E. coli-affected ingredients," Wharton and Engineering sophomore Prashanth Srinivasan added. "I just don't know why they have to close the whole store."
The Philadelphia Department of Public Health conducted inspections of all 15 Philadelphia Taco Bells once they closed after a Montgomery County resident's sickness was linked to a city Taco Bell.
As of yet, there are no other reported cases of E. coli in Philadelphia.
Moran said the Health Commissioner asked the city's Taco Bells to close on Wednesday, and they agreed.
Officials believe that green onions are the source of the E. coli, a bacteria that can cause severe illness in humans.
"The Department is investigating, is taking food samples and testing food samples," Moran said.
He added that the Department of Public Health will conduct a "complete investigation to ensure that the establishments have a clean bill of health" before recommending that the Taco Bells reopen.
The Division of Disease Control has issued an alert, aimed to help people recognize symptoms of E. coli and to keep themselves free of the disease.
E. coli outbreaks have also been found in New Jersey and New York.
