McDonald’s stops at reopening dining rooms as coronavirus cases rise

“Continuing our thoughtful approach to reopening, effective today, we are pausing all reopening plans for dinner for 21 days,” Joe Erlinger, President of McDonald’s (DCM) The US, and Mark Salebra, president of the National Franchisee Leadership Alliance, which represents some McDonald’s franchise operators, wrote in a letter Wednesday to US franchise operators and employees. The plans in the letter , viewed on CNN, were first reported by The Wall Street Journal.

Several states have reversed their decisions to allow the resumption of certain indoor activities, including restaurant dining, as coronavirus cases increase.

In Wednesday’s letter, Erlinger and Salebra wrote that stores that have already reopened their dining rooms should review the guidance of local government officials to determine if they need to reverse. take-away, delivery and drive-thru only. Restaurants that have reopened their dining rooms and are not required to close, but wish to be instructed to consult with their operations officer and franchise business partners.

“To be clear: owners / operators will make the final decision in these situations,” Erlinger and Salebra wrote. “In the future, we will continue to monitor the situation and adjust as necessary to protect the safety of our employees and customers,” they said.

McDonald’s prepared its reopening strategy months ago.

The 59-page document outlines the minimum sanitation and social distancing requirements everyone must meet before opening their dining rooms, such as closing some tables and seating areas and using floor decals to mark “clearly recognizable pathways” that will keep customers six feet away from each other while waiting in line.