MEMPHIS, Tennessee —
A popular East Memphis restaurant is temporarily shut down after two employees test positive for COVID -19.
We're talking about Las Delicias on Park Avenue in East Memphis.
So should you worry the next time you go out to eat?
The sign on the door says the restaurant is closed for the next week. It doesn't say why, but if you call Las Delicias on Park Ave, you will hear this on the answering machine:
"Thank you for calling Las Delicias on Park. Unfortunately we will remain closed for a few days, since two members of our staff tested positive for COVID- 19. We thank you for your support and understanding. We will reopen soon."
Hungry customers arriving for lunch were surprised to find out the restaurant was closed.
"I drove all the way from Collierville, " said one would-be customer.
"If the employees are masked then theoretically its supposed to protect you," said customer Frances Fabian.
The Las Delicias manager told Local 24 News the last time the sick employees worked was Thursday. They were tested Friday and the decision was made to close the restaurant Saturday. The manager says all employees are now quarantined. He said the two sick employees worked in the "back of the house," meaning they didn't have direct contact with customers.
Medical experts have said its safe to eat at restaurants, so should you be worried if you find out employees at a restaurant you recently visited tested positive?
"There's not a lot of evidence so far that even someone who was working there was likely to transmit it to you through food," said Dr. Stephen Threlkeld, Infectious Disease Specialist.
Threlkeld added, when it comes to the risk of you catching COVID-19 because an employee has it at a restaurant you ate at, "I think that's probably lesser risk than the people you were around in close proximity during that trip to a restaurant."
Only the Las Delicias on Park Avenue is closed. The company has another location on Quince, and that restaurant remains open for business.
