The Marion County Public Health Department believes there was no COVID-19 exposure to patrons who dined recently at St. Elmo Steak House, despite the restaurant's brief closure due to a coronavirus outbreak among employees.
Dr. Virginia Caine, Marion County Health Department director, said Tuesday that she didn't think there was much risk for patrons because they weren't in close contact with employees for extended periods of time.
Guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention define close contact as being within six feet of an infected person for at least 15 minutes, she said.
According to the health department, St. Elmo has the largest known number of cases related to a single outbreak among restaurants or food retail establishments.