Thursday, March 28, 2024

McDonald’s Considers Closing Indoor Dining Amid Spread of Delta Variant

McDonald's

*Fast-food chains across the nation may end indoor dining due to the spread of the Delta variant of COVID-19.

McDonald’s has instructed franchisees to close dining rooms in counties with high COVID-19 cases. As reported by Black Enterprise, the eatery temporarily closed indoor dining at nearly all U.S. locations in early 2020, but it reopened 70% by last month. The chain was set to reopen dining rooms by Labor Day.

“We have a much deeper sense of what actions make a difference for the safety of our restaurant teams and crew,” McDonald’s USA President Joe Erlinger reportedly said during a Wednesday meeting.

“We’re monitoring the impact of the Delta variant closely and recently convened together with our franchisees to underscore existing safety protocols, reinforce our people-first approach and provide updates on the rise in cases in the country,” McDonald’s told Insider in a statement. “As we’ve seen over the last 18 months, McDonald’s successfully served customers however they wanted to enjoy McDonald’s through digital, delivery, drive-thru and dine-in. Should we see further changes in customer behavior, we are well-positioned to adapt while maintaining high standards for safety. “

The US is now averaging 100,000 COVID-19 hospitalizations daily, according to The New York Times.

READ MORE: Poetic Justice? Candace Owens Claims COVID Facility Refused to Test Her for ‘Spreading Misinformation’

Meanwhile, Federal officials are investigating why McDonald’s McFlurry machines are always broken.

Per Yahoo, the Federal Trade Commission has contacted franchise owners to learn what is causing problems with the machines.

The machine manufacturer, Taylor Commercial Foodservice, said that the company is not to blame for the alleged faulty equipment.

“A lot of what’s been broadcasted can be attributed to the lack of knowledge about the equipment and how they operate in the restaurants,” a Taylor representative told the newspaper.

The company added that when working with dairy products “you have to make sure the machine is cleaned properly. The machines are built up with a lot of interconnecting parts that have to operate in a complex environment and manner.

“There is no reason for us to purposely design our equipment to be confusing or hard to repair or hurt our operators.”

The FTC will reportedly examine how McDonald’s reviews suppliers and equipment and how restaurant owners are allowed to handle McFlurry machines.

“Intrinsic to the interest in our soft serve machines is our fans’ love of McDonald’s iconic McFlurry desserts and shakes,” said McDonald’s in a statement.

“Nothing is more important to us than delivering on our high standards for food quality and safety, which is why we work with fully vetted partners that can reliably provide safe solutions at scale.

“McDonald’s has no reason to believe we are the focus of an FTC investigation.”

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