Regina eatery voluntarily closes over E. coli worries

A Regina restaurant has voluntarily closed its doors following concerns about people who have tested positive for E. coli, a digestive tract ailment often linked to meat products.

According to local health officialTania Diener, five cases of E. coliconfirmed in people from Regina and others who were visiting Reginahad one thing in common: they had all eaten at therestaurant Flipin the last week.

Diener noted, however, thatthe restaurant is inspected regularly and was recently re-inspected,and there are no issues to report.

Nevertheless, the owner of the restaurantTimothy Martinsaid he decided to close the doors.

He said the restaurant is working with health inspectors to determine the source of the E. coli cases.

"We really don't know right now," Martin said. "We're in the middle of the investigation."

He said the decision to close, temporarily, was based on concern for safety.

"We made our decision to ... keep safety at the forefront," he said. "That's our biggest concern."

Earlier on Tuesday, provincial health officials said a total of13 E. coli cases, across Saskatchewan, had been confirmedin recent weeks.