McDonald’s will now require customers, along with employees, to wear masks in US restaurants, due to spike in Coronavirus cases. This policy will begin August 1st, McDonald’s announced on Friday.
What We Know:
- With the US now having more than 4 million coronavirus cases that is known of or confirmed cases, there were over 1 million new cases recently diagnosed, a very high rate in a matter of just two weeks.
- Following along with the trend, McDonald’s will now require face masks in its more than 14,000 restaurants.
- With face masks now being the subject matter of a dispute or disagreement, and the expectation that some customers may not like the idea of having to wear a mask, the restaurant chain stated, they will train employees in “de-escalation instruction”.
“In those situations where a customer declines to wear a face covering, we’ll put in place additional procedures to take care of them in a friendly, expedited way,” says McDonald’s.
- For customers who decide to decline wearing a mask, workers will expedite their orders within a designated spot maintaining a safe distance from all other customers. During such procedure, staff will approach customers in a friendly and expedited way making sure safe distance is still maintained, while customers are picking up their orders.
- According to NPR WNYC, the new precautions at McDonald’s also include a plan to postpone dine-in operations for another 30 days.
- McDonald’s stated about 80% of its restaurants are in areas that already require face coverings. However, “it’s important we protect the safety of all employees and customers,” the company said in a statement.
In general, many restaurants are taking this precaution, since some Governors have signed executive orders for the wearing of a face mask. McDonald’s decided to impose the new restriction due to a recent report suggesting virus droplet can linger in the air for periods of time.
