CLEVELAND — Multiple restaurants in Greater Cleveland and across Ohio are being overwhelmed by workers testing positive for COVID-19 during the past week.

Jessica Parkison, co-owner of Salt, a restaurant in Cleveland, had to make the call to close up shop before the holidays.

“We actually were going to try and stay open this week and then get ready for a shut down for next week for our Christmas break,” said Parkison.

However, Christmas break came sooner than expected when a handful of her staff of 17 tested positive for COVID-19.

“We were just continuously having staff members start to test positive," Parkison said, "so we just called it immediately, we are too small to stay open when people are getting sick and even though all of us are vaccinated and most of us are boosted, it just didn’t sit well with us.”

With Ohio reaching a record-breaking number of positive cases reported in a single day on Dec. 21, the story at Salt isn’t unique.

Other restaurants are posting about how they’re making the same call, like Cloak and Dagger, Don's Lighthouse Grille and Brewella's.

“I mean a couple extra bucks wasn’t worth everybody getting sick," said Parkison. 

She said Salt plans to open back up on New Year’s Eve, but ownership will keep an eye on staff and the community before making the final call.