McDonald's to reopen for takeaway starting 22 February

Good news for fast food lovers across the UK: McDonald's is reopening! Well, sort of. The world's most famous fast food restaurant will be opening again for walk-in takeaways starting this week at certain locations for a trial period before rolling out fully on 22 February.

A thorough revision to ensure safety

Britain, Ireland, Northern Ireland and Wales are expected to reopen their doors but due to strict government restrictions Scotland will be unable to participate in the grand reopening.

At the beginning of the current lockdown in the UK, McDonald's chose to close their doors to clients so as to better equip themselves with safety measures that would ensure the security of its staff and the members of the public.

But now, the company is ready to welcome customers back inside after reviewing its COVID-19 measures and adding further barriers to comply with the current social distancing measures put into place by the UK government.

Paul Pomroy, CEO of UK and Ireland McDonald's said:

A month ago we made the voluntary decision to temporarily close walk-in Takeaway while we reviewed our safety measures to ensure they reflect the evolving nature of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Adding that:

Working closely with third party safety expert NSF International, we identified a small number of changes to further enhance our procedures, and we are currently in the process of rolling these out to restaurants.

What are the new measures being introduced?

The staff at McDonald's will be obliged to wear visors and face coverings when interacting with customers. In addition, Pomroy specifies that:

Revised guidance and processes for our couriers to support their safe working and enhanced processes for managing customer and courier flow in restaurants.

With the reopening of their branches across the UK also comes the introduction of new menu items that will surely garner some attention. The Grand Big Mac, Homestyle Crispy Chicken, Mozzarella Dippers and two new McFlurry flavours will be added to the menu.