McDonald's shuts all branches in Singapore till May 4
Fast-food giant says it was advised by MOH to close, will continue paying its 10,000 employees
All McDonald's branches in Singapore closed at 11am yesterday and will remain closed until May 4, but the fast-food giant has offered assurances that it will continue to pay its staff.
This comes after seven of its employees tested positive for Covid-19 in the past week.
Announcing the move on Facebook yesterday morning, McDonald's said all restaurant operations will be suspended, including its delivery and takeaway services.
"As a preventative action in the fight against Covid-19, we've been advised by the Ministry of Health (MOH) to suspend all restaurant operations, including McDelivery and Drive-Thru, until May 4," said the post.
"We'll be closing all restaurants today, April 19, at 11am and will take our last Drive-Thru and delivery orders at 8am and 10.30am, respectively."
The fast-food giant, which has more than 130 outlets here, had suspended its walk-in takeaway service last Saturday.
In response to queries, McDonald's told ST its outlets at Changi Airport Terminal 3 and a drive-through outlet at a Shell petrol kiosk in Tampines Avenue 2 were to be closed for deep-cleaning after two employees tested positive for Covid-19.
UNPRECEDENTED
This comes after five other employees were diagnosed with the disease on April 12.
They worked at outlets in Lido, Forum The Shopping Mall, Parklane and Geylang East Central.
In its Facebook post yesterday, McDonald's said its decision to close all its branches was made to take care of its customers and workers.
It said: "These are unprecedented times for all of us. With the safety of all our customers and employees as the top priority, we will do all we can to help Singapore flatten the curve.
"From all of us at McDonald's Singapore, we thank you for your continued support. We'll miss you and look forward to serving you again."
McDonald's employs more than 10,000 people in Singapore and serves more than six million customers every month.
A spokesman for McDonald's said it will continue to pay the salaries of all employees whose roles are disrupted.
"The next two weeks will allow our employees to stay home and be assured that their jobs are secure," added the spokesman.
When asked what will be done about McDonald's stock of food, he said all perishables with a short shelf life will be discarded.
He added that McDonald's acted as soon as it was advised by MOH to suspend its operations but did not specify when this took place.
In a Facebook post yesterday, KFC said it was experiencing a "recent increase in demand" and added that from today, all delivery and takeaway orders customers make online will be made contactless.
Singapore's ongoing circuit breaker period, which lasts till May 4, has seen most workplaces closed, schools transitioning to full home-based learning and most people staying home to practise safe distancing in a bid to curb the spread of Covid-19.
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