COVID-19 : McDonald's Singapore suspends all restaurant operations until May 4

From CNA dated 19 April 2020 : McDonald's Singapore suspends all restaurant operations until May 4

SINGAPORE: McDonald's Singapore will suspend restaurant operations in all its outlets from Sunday (Apr 19) until the end of the "circuit breaker" period, it said in a press release.

This move - which includes drive-through and delivery services - goes into effect from 11am Sunday, and comes a day after the fast food chain announced the suspension of takeaways.

Drive-through service will end at 8am, and the last order for delivery will be at 10.30am, it added.

"McDonald’s Singapore today announced it has been advised by the Ministry of Health that as a preventative action in the fight against COVID-19 in Singapore, it is suspending restaurant operations, including McDelivery and Drive-Thru, till May 4," the release said.

These are indeed unprecedented times for all of us. We have done all we can to put in place every safety precautionary measure to keep our employees and customers safe – and will continue to do our part to flatten the curve," said managing director of McDonald’s Singapore Kenneth Chan.


"We thank our customers for their continued support and look forward to serving them again on May 5,” he added.

In announcing its previous move to suspend takeaways, the company said that it would continue to pay salaries of employees, including seniors, whose roles will be disrupted during this period.

On Saturday, TODAY reported that McDonald's closed its restaurant at Changi Airport Terminal 3 and a drive-through store at a Shell petrol kiosk along Tampines Ave 2 after two employees tested positive for COVID-19.

Employees at the restaurant were "immediately advised" to serve a company-imposed 14-day leave of absence, the company said in a statement.

This brought the total number of McDonald's employees infected to 7.

Earlier this month, five McDonald's employees were diagnosed with COVID-19, forming a cluster of linked cases. The employees worked at outlets in Lido, Forum Galleria, Parklane and Geylang East Central.

All other employees working at the four outlets were subsequently told to serve a company-imposed 14-day leave of absence, regardless of whether they had come into contact with the confirmed cases.

They are now quarantined in medical facilities and are being monitored by medical personnel, as per the Ministry of Health’s guidelines.

Singapore reported a record 942 new COVID-19 cases as of noon on Saturday, of which 893 were work permit holders living in foreign worker dormitories.

The Ministry of Manpower announced on Saturday that all work permit holders and S Pass holders in the construction sector would be placed on mandatory stay-home notices.

Singapore's month-long circuit breaker - in place until May 4 - is a period with enhanced safe distancing measures in a bid to stem the spread of COVID-19. Most workplaces are closed and schools have transitioned to full home-based learning.