MARION, OH (WCMH) — The rapidly spreading flu prompted a Marion restaurant to close, on Wednesday, as at least two employees recover from the illness.

“We couldn’t take the chance of getting anybody else sick, as well,” said Heather Williams, owner of the Courtyard Grub & Pub.

Williams said although two employees have confirmed cases of the flu, several others have reported feeling ill.

Personally, she said she has recently suffered from severe body aches and a cough.

“I’m hoping it will run its course,” she explained. “If it doesn’t get out in the next couple of days, I’ll be going to the doctor.”

Williams is far from alone in feeling ill.

According to Dr. Matthew White, the Medical Director of Emergency Services at OhioHealth Marion General Hospital, doctors have admitted more than 40 patients this flu season, who have been diagnosed with a form of influenza.

“We actually have seen a peak in the flu season, much earlier this season than we have expected, or that we have seen in previous years,” he said.

Doctors still say flu shots, although not guaranteed to prevent the flu, are still the best line of defense.

“We certainly see people [who have received a flu shot] that have gotten the flu, although the cases that we have seen, those people have actually been less sick,” White said.

As for Williams, she said she is hoping to reopen her restaurant, on Thursday.