Coronavirus: McDonald's announces phase two of plan to reopen its restaurants
Dozen of branches are to be back in action on Wednesday - with all drive-throughs to resume business in June.
Tuesday 12 May 2020 18:09, UK
McDonald's is to reopen 30 drive-through restaurants next week, the fast food chain has announced.
It will open its first 15 pilot restaurants from 11am on Wednesday for deliveries only, before service resumes at another 30 sites in the UK and Ireland for drive-through customers only on Wednesday 20 May.
It has yet to reveal the location of the drive-through sites that will reopen.
It came as sandwich chain Subway reopened more than 600 of its UK stores on Tuesday for delivery and takeaway for the first time since the COVID-19 lockdown.
McDonald's said it planned to reopen all of its drive-through sites by early June, in line with government coronavirus guidelines.
The amount customers can spend will be capped to £25 per car and all will be asked to use contactless payment.
The chain had already announced safety measures including contactless thermometers for staff, Perspex screens and protective equipment.
Paul Pomroy, McDonald's chief executive officer for UK and Ireland, asked customers to be "patient and supportive" of staff as sites reopen, warning that service "will not be as quick as you might be used to".
"There has been an incredible response to news of our reopening and we know many of you are eager for us to extend our reopening plans at a faster pace," he said.
"The well-being of our employees, suppliers and delivery partners' couriers is my top priority and we will only extend our plans at a pace that enables us to create a safe working environment for our teams.
"As we get accustomed to the new processes and procedures, we will look to reopen more restaurants, for longer hours and reintroduce more menu items.
"But only when I am confident we can do so whilst maintaining the new procedures we have introduced for the protection of our people."