(Newser)
– McDonald’s is holding back its US reopening plans As the coronavirus increases across the country, the Wall street journal reports. The mega-chain released a statement on Wednesday saying restaurants will not be asked to add a dinner service for the next three weeks. However, takeaway, delivery and transportation service may remain. “Our resilience will be tested again,” writes Joe Erlinger, president of McDonald’s USA, and Mark Salebra, head of the homeowners association for the National Franchise Leadership Alliance. “COVID-19 cases are on the rise.” This comes after partial dinner service was allowed beginning in May, with approximately 2,200 of the 14,000 locations in the United States allowing customers to eat in at limited capacity.
Now, those 2,200 restaurants can continue to offer dinner service if their jurisdiction allows it, the letter says, but the planned reopens are on hiatus. The move comes as several states, including Texas and California, are re-imposing blockades in an attempt to alter the virus. “This increase shows that no one is exempt from this virus, even in places that previously had very few cases,” Erlinger and Salebra wrote. They also say McDonald’s workers should continue to wear masks and follow social distancing rules, according to CBS News. Executives warned that McDonald’s “will continue to monitor the situation and adjust as necessary” if the guidelines are ignored, CNBC notes. (Read more McDonald’s stories).
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