Waffle House, an iconic American breakfast-food chain known to remain open in the bleakest of times, has closed 365 locations amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The company on Tuesday said 1,627 locations remained open.

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Waffle House, an iconic American breakfast-food chain known to remain open in the bleakest of times, has closed 365 locations amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The company said in a statement Tuesday that 1,627 locations remained open.

The closing of Waffle House locations is not taken lightly. Waffle House is known for being open for business 24 hours a day and 365 days a year — even amid natural disasters. The Federal Emergency Management Agency has even used the informal Waffle House Index to track how much an area is affected by disasters such as hurricanes.

"If a Waffle House store is open and offering a full menu, the index is green," EHS Today said in an article published in 2011. "If it is open but serving from a limited menu, it's yellow. When the location has been forced to close, the index is red."

"If you get there and the Waffle House is closed?" The Wall Street Journal quoted FEMA's administrator at the time, Craig Fugate, as saying in 2011. "That's really bad. That's where you go to work."

In a Facebook picture with the caption "#WaffleHouseIndexRed," the company on Tuesday showed a map with the locations of closed restaurants:

A map of Waffle House closings shared by the chain on Tuesday. Waffle House

At least 728 people in the US had died from the new coronavirus as of Tuesday. Roughly 54,000 cases have been reported in all 50 states as well as US territories and Washington, DC. Nonessential businesses have largely been ordered to close; however, several restaurants have remained open for takeout and delivery.

People on Twitter sounded the alarm to the Waffle Houses that were closed in multiple states.

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—Dr./Prof. Sarah Hörst (@PlanetDr) March 25, 2020