Two Sisters Vineyards has become the first Niagara-on-the-Lake winery to close its doors due to the threat of COVID-19 (novel coronavirus).

The winery released a statement Saturday, saying it will cease all public-facing operations until April 6, out of concern for the public and staff.

The winery will also close its Kitchen76 restaurant.

“We strongly believe at Two Sisters Vineyards it is our responsibility ad business owners to do our part within our community by being proactive and making every effort possible to keep families safe,” said winery owners Angela Marotta and Melissa Marotta-Paolicelli, in the statement.

“We have been continually monitoring the situation and have made the decision, along with our team, to close our customer-facing operations effective March 16, until a tentative date of April 6, 2020. We feel this is the best choice for our dedicated customers, our staff and their loved ones as well as our Niagara-on-the-Lake community.”

The winery says it will still be offering wine through its website and shipping to customers’ doors.

“We understand these are difficult and scary times. We are thinking of you all,” said the release.

Wineries of Niagara-on-the-Lake board member Andrew Niven said as of Sunday he hasn’t heard of any other wineries shutting doors to the public, and that wineries are currently focused on increasing sanitation.

“From my perspective we’ll continue to focus on guest experiences and enhancing on-site sanitization programs, while following the lead of local health authorities,” Niven said, in an email response to questions from The Lake Report.

“That being said, we have seen an increase in online orders and will look to shift some of our marketing dollars towards our online channel.”