Fast food restaurants in the US, including McDonald’s, are reportedly closing their indoor dining options for customers due to the spread of the Delta variant of Covid-19.
Reuters reported that some of the restaurant businesses are also reducing their hours of operation amid the Delta surge in the US.
Citing McDonald’s internal company materials, Reuters said that the company has given instructions to franchisees in areas where the Delta variant is spreading quickly about the measures they should implement to re-close their dining rooms.
However, the materials did not reveal how many restaurants will remove the indoor dining option for customers.
After the outbreak of Covid-19 last year, McDonald’s closed indoor dining at all its restaurants across the US.
In a statement, McDonald’s said: “We’re monitoring the impact of the Delta variant closely and recently convened together with our franchisees to underscore existing safety protocols, reinforce our people-first approach and provide updates on the rise in cases in the country.”
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By GlobalDataThe closures could be less compared to when the pandemic first hit the US last year.
In a conference call, McDonald’s executives suggested that franchisees should consider closing indoor seating options on a rolling three-week average in locations where cases of the Delta variant are exceeding 250 per 100,000 people.
According to data released by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), nationwide deaths and cases due to Covid-19 have increased by 11% and 3%, respectively, over the past seven days.
Last March, McDonald’s temporarily suspended dine-in services in the UK as a precautionary measure to contain the spread of Covid-19 in the country.