McDonald’s has suspended plans to reopen its canteens amid a surge in coronavirus infections.
The fast-food giant will not resume food service at more US restaurants for three weeks as the number of COVID-19 cases continues to rise, the company said in a letter on Wednesday.
“This increase shows that no one is exempt from this virus, even in places that previously had very few cases,” wrote McDonald’s President Joe Erlinger and Mark Salebra, president of the National Franchise Leadership Alliance, in the letter, according to CNBC.
“In the future, we will continue to monitor the situation and adjust as necessary to protect the safety of our employees and customers.”
Approximately 2,200 of the 14,000 McDonald’s locations in the US have already reopened their dining rooms, and dinner service may continue in places that allow it, according to The Wall Street Journal, which first reported on the plans.
The move came when several states ordered restaurants and bars to close or reduce service as they faced increasing infections. The United States recorded more than 50,000 cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday for the first time since the pandemic began, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
McDonald’s global comparable sales plummeted nearly 30 percent year-on-year in April and May, as the vast majority of its restaurants were limited to delivery, delivery and delivery service, the company said in a regulatory filing on June 16.
The Chicago-based chain announced plans last month to hire approximately 260,000 restaurant employees this summer when the United States began to emerge from its economic blockade. It is unclear how the pause in the reopening of the dining rooms will affect those plans.
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