Trump says fast-food CEOs assured him they’ll still be serving during coronavirus
As more states move to shut down restaurants and bars as the coronavirus pandemic continues in the United States, one thing will remain constant: fast food drive-thru service.
President Donald Trump said he spoke to the executives at McDonald’s, Wendy’s and Burger King, and they all assured them that while many dining rooms will shut down, drive-thru service will stay open.
The president spoke at a midday news conference Tuesday, joined by Vice President Mike Pence and the White House Coronavirus Task Force.
Trump and Pence reiterated their 15-day plan to slow the spread of COVID-19, asking all Americans to avoid gatherings of more than 10 people, stop going out to restaurants and bars, and postpone unnecessary travel.
More than 190,000 cases of the COVID-19 virus have been confirmed worldwide with more than 7,500 deaths as of March 17, according to Johns Hopkins University. The United States has more than 5,600 confirmed cases with at least 94 deaths.
Several states, including North Carolina, Massachusetts, Washington and Illinois, have ordered all bars and restaurants to close. But takeout and delivery services will still be allowed.
McDonald’s CEO Joe Erlinger said in a statement that the company is working with franchises to close dining rooms and move customers to drive-thru and take-out service only. He said the company is “encouraging restaurants to close down all dine-in seating, including suspending the use of self-service beverage bars and kiosks.”
“The health and well-being of our team members and customers is our top priority, so to do our part in encouraging social distancing, we believe offering these to-go options is the right thing to do,” Bojangles’ CEO Jose Armario said in a news release Tuesday.
This story was originally published March 17, 2020 at 2:08 PM.
