Ocean City restaurants temporarily close, health concerns

OCEAN CITY, Md. – Almost ten different Ocean City restaurants have temporarily closed after employees either showed signs of or tested positive for COVID-19.

Officials with the Ocean City Hotel-Motel-Restaurant Association say the following businesses are temporarily closed: Phillips Crab House, Hammerheads, Fishtales,  BLU Crabhouse, Purple Moose, Buxy’s, Dry Dock, Shenanigan’s and Crabcake Factory. Meanwhile, Layton’s on 16th is only operating outdoor dining. Albertino’s as well as Bull on the Beach on 2nd Street are only doing carry out.

Officials say many business owners are being proactive and may have had only one person test positive but they decided to close in order to get employees tested and deep clean. In other cases, they may have been notified from a contact tracing official.

“So basically, if one person goes in and gets tested and they are positive and traced back to the business then that business has to get their employees tested,” says Susan Jones with the Ocean City Hotel-Motel-Restaurant Association.

Officials also tell 47 ABC they haven’t had a situation yet where a hotel has reported positive COVID-19 cases. However, they know it’s a very real possibility in the future and describes it as a nightmare situation for everyone involved.

Many businesses are updating their hours and information about temporary closures on their Facebook pages.