McDonald's, Starbucks halt dine-in service in US to enforce social distancing

Published March 17, 2020
A sign informs customers that it is a open for take out only to help stop the transmission of COVID-19 coronavirus at a Starbucks, Monday, March 16, 2020, in Orange, Calif. According to the World  Health Organization, most people recover in about two to six weeks, depending on the severity of the illness. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson) — Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved
A sign informs customers that it is a open for take out only to help stop the transmission of COVID-19 coronavirus at a Starbucks, Monday, March 16, 2020, in Orange, Calif. According to the World Health Organization, most people recover in about two to six weeks, depending on the severity of the illness. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson) — Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved

McDonald's Corp and Starbucks Corp have decided to close dine-in areas at their US restaurants and shifted to take-away and delivery services to enforce social distancing, Reuters reports.

The world's largest burger chain said on Monday it would also shut self-service beverage bars and kiosks, as well as its kids area, or PlayPlaces, at the company-owned restaurants.

A sign informs customers that it is open for take out only to help stop the transmission of COVID-19 at a Starbucks on Monday, March 16, 2020, in Orange, California. — AP
A sign informs customers that it is open for take out only to help stop the transmission of COVID-19 at a Starbucks on Monday, March 16, 2020, in Orange, California. — AP

Starbucks, the world's largest coffee chain, said on Sunday it would also close stores for at least two weeks in communities with high numbers of coronavirus cases, as well as malls and university campuses, and change to a “to go” model in the United States and Canada stores.

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