McDonald's to temporarily close all UK, Ireland restaurants amid coronavirus outbreak

[BENGALURU] McDonald's said on Sunday it would temporarily close all its restaurants in the UK and Ireland by Monday evening because of the coronavirus outbreak.

"We have taken the difficult decision to close all McDonald's restaurants in UK and Ireland by 7pm on Monday 23rd March at the latest", the company said in a tweet.

Restaurants have been forced to shut doors or limit service to delivery and takeaway in many parts of the world in efforts to curb the spread of the highly contagious coronavirus.

In China, the epicentre of the virus, McDonald's has reopened 95 per cent of its restaurants, chief executive officer Chris Kempczinski said on Friday.

Separately, the fast-food chain has suspended share buybacks to help it navigate through the crisis, but has not changed its dividend policy.

REUTERS

GET BT IN YOUR INBOX DAILY

Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox.

Sign UpVIEW ALL