No luck for the Irish as closed U.S. pubs face coronavirus losses on St. Patrick's Day

A worker sweeps the floor after closing time at McSorley's Old Ale House, which, established in 1854, is referred to as New York City's oldest Irish saloon and was ordered to close at 8:00pm as part of a city-wide order to close bars and restaurants in an effort to slow the spread of coronavirus the day before Saint Patrick's Day in Manhattan, New York City, New York, U.S., March 16, 2020. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly

NEW YORK/BOSTON (Reuters) - Orla Sweeney, manager of Connolly's Irish pub in New York City, expected St. Patrick's Day to once again be one of her bar's most profitable days of the year.

Instead, the pub near Times Square was shuttered on Tuesday, like hundreds of thousands of dining establishments across the United States as state governments enforced closures to control the spread of COVID-19. Sweeney broke the news to her employees on Monday after Governor Andrew Cuomo ordered all restaurants to close that night, and they broke down in tears.