McDonald’s halts U.S. resumption of dine-in services for 21 days

On Wednesday, McDonald’s Corp (MCD.N) said that it plans to pause the reopening of all dine-in services in its U.S. restaurants for the next 21 days as the coronavirus outbreak flares up in areas across the country.

The fast-food chain had a 30% dip in global sales in the first two months of the current quarter while it was severely affected by store closures due to the coronavirus pandemic.

About 1,000 out of McDonald’s 14,000 U.S. locations have reopened with reduced seating capacity as of mid-June.

“Our resiliency will be tested again. COVID-19 cases are on the rise – with a 65 percent increase in infections over the last two weeks. In the last seven days, 32 states saw increasing cases, and this number appears to be growing,” McDonald’s U.S. President Joe Erlinger and National Franchisee Leadership Alliance Head Mark Salebra said in a letter.

McDonald’s shares were down by 1% in extended trading on Wednesday in New York.