UPDATE, 3:30 p.m.: Fleming's Steakhouse will open Friday at 5 p.m. after getting a clean bill from the health department.
Original Post: County health officials closed Fleming's Steakhouse in Walnut Creek Wednesday after confirming that the restaurant was the source of a norovirus outbreak that had made several diners ill earlier in the week.
The restaurant was closed all Thursday, and health officials were investigating Friday morning to see if the restaurant could open later in the day, according to Erika Jenssen, Contra Costa Public Heath communicable disease programs chief.
Jenssen said that the department inspected Fleming's after receiving reports of illness from several people who had eaten there Monday and Tuesday. An employee at the restaurant tested positive for norovirus.
In January, a deli in Concord was closed because of norovirus, and a school in Lafayette also suffered an outbreak of the highly contagious gastrointestinal illness. It often circulates during winter months, but can cause illness throughout the year, according to an information page on the website of Contra Costa Health Services.
