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Waffle House, a restaurant chain notorious for always being open, has closed two of its Delaware restaurants and hundreds nationwide amid the coronavirus outbreak.

The chain posted a map on Facebook displaying 418 closed locations, including restaurants in Middletown and Smyrna. According to the map, the Waffle Houses in Dover and Elkton, Maryland, remain open for delivery and takeout only.

More than 1,500 locations concentrated in the southeast are still open.

Waffle House did not say whether the closures were linked to the coronavirus pandemic and did not respond to a request for comment.

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The 24-hour restaurant chain is known for having its own way to assess damage during natural disasters, which local, state and federal officials have come to call the "Waffle House Index."

The Facebook post included a nod to the unofficial term by using the hashtag, "#WaffleHouseIndexRed."

Waffle Houses are used to gauge the magnitude of disasters in the southeast: If a store is open, your community has been spared. If the store is open but has a limited menu, you've probably gotten some damage. If the store is completely closed, you’re in a disaster zone.

In an effort to slow the spread of COVID-19, Delaware bars and restaurants were ordered to halt dine-in services last week but are permitted to offer delivery and takeout. Some of Delaware's best-known restaurants have shut down completely rather than offering to-go service because they say doing so does not make financial sense.

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Waffle House shared plans for a fourth Delaware location in late February. The chain is set to take the space of a former medical office at 1450 Pulaski Highway in Bear. The company previously said it expected to open the restaurant by the end of 2020.

This report includes information from USA Today.

Contact Brandon Holveck at bholveck@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter @holveck_brandon.