McDonald’s, Other Food Chains, Close UK Stores Amid Coronavirus Epidemic

Fast food giant McDonald’s (MCD) said it will close all of its nearly 1,300 restaurants in the U.K. and Ireland by the end of Monday to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

On Friday, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson ordered the closure of restaurants and cafes, but did not include takeout places in his prohibition.

As of Sunday, the U.K. confirmed 5,683 coronavirus cases and 288 deaths.

Earlier, McDonald's had closed its seating areas but still offered takeout and drive-through services.

"Over the last 24 hours, it has become clear that maintaining safe social distancing whilst operating busy takeaway and drive-thru restaurants is increasingly difficult and therefore we have taken the decision to close every restaurant in the U.K. and Ireland by 7 pm on Monday,” said McDonald's U.K. chief, Paul Pomroy. "I have been clear throughout this that we would only continue to operate whilst it was safe for our people and together with our franchisees, we feel now is the time to make this decision."

Pomroy added: “This is not a decision we are taking lightly, but one made with the wellbeing and safety of our employees in mind as well as in the best interests of our customers.”

Last week, Pomroy said McDonald’s would stay open as "for as long as it is safe to do so.”

McDonald's workforce in the U.K. amounts to about 135,000, the majority of whom work on zero-hours contracts – which means the employer is not required to provide minimum work hours.

Other food retailers have also shut down operations in Britain.

Nando's, a South African-based restaurant chain that specializes in Portuguese food, said it closed its 422 restaurants in the U.K. "until further notice.”

Nando's said its owners had "decided that the best course of action right now is to temporarily close our restaurants.”

Nando's has about 20,000 workers in Britain.

Costa Coffee will close its 2,700 branches by the end of Monday, but would keep some hospital branches open to serve health care workers. Its 16,000 workers, many of whom earn minimum wage, will be paid in full over the next eight weeks.

Jill McDonald, chief executive of Costa said: “We know these are difficult and unsettling times and through our community work we hope to be able to continue serving you, and your friends and families in some way. I will continue to be in touch over the coming weeks and look forward to welcoming you back into our stores soon.”

Sushi chain Itsu and sandwich seller Subway also planned to close their U.K. stores on Monday.

"We believe this is the best thing to help support social distancing and keep everyone as healthy as possible for as long as possible," said a Subway spokesman.

Leaders of Britain’s restaurant and hospitality industries have warned that without government support, pubs, cafes and restaurants across the country would shut down.

On Friday, Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak unveiled a huge financial assistance package under which the government would pay 80% of the salaries of furloughed employees, up to a maximum of £2,500 ($2,877) a month.

However, it’s unclear if these payments will be available to all those who are self-employed. On Sunday, though, a Treasury spokesman said the government upgraded the safety net for the self-employed under universal credit and was also deferring income tax self-assessment payments.