Two McDonald’s restaurants have opened their doors again in Southwark after coronavirus lockdown, writes Kit Heren…
The McDonald’s branches, in Camberwell and Walworth, reopened for takeaways last Thursday with a range of new safety measures and reduced opening hours.
Customers can no longer eat inside and have to follow a new one-way system to order their food.
Only a certain amount of people are allowed in at a time, so there may be queues outside restaurants.
People are asked to visit on their own whenever possible and are encouraged to use hand sanitiser when they arrive.
Self-service screens are still in use, but staff are wiping them down every half an hour to help get rid of any traces of the virus.
Meanwhile children’s play areas and recycling facilities have stayed shut to help keep to social distancing measures.
The Southwark branches of McDonald’s are among 200 that reopened across the UK on June 24 after the lockdown. More than 1,000 were already open for drive-through collection and delivery.
Other south London restaurants that have reopened are in Woolwich, Clapham Junction, Eltham, Penge, and Brixton.
The fast food chain is aiming to keep staff safe with perspex screens in kitchens and other work areas, while customer-facing employees have also been given face coverings and disposable gloves.
Restaurants will only be open from 11am-10pm, and have cut the number of people working at the same time.
McDonald’s has also encouraged customers to use their app to pay for food, or to use contactless, to help keep staff safe.