Covid-19: McDonald's closure announcement sparks drive thru queues

Today's announcement by McDonald's that it is to temporarily close all its restaurants due to the coronavirus outbreak on both sides of the border from today sparked queues at many of its branches.

Last Wednesday, McDonald's announced that it was closing its seating areas to prevent the spread of coronavirus and only drive thru and takeaway services were available.

Today it went a step further by announcing that all restaurants in Ireland and the UK are closing this evening to protect staff and customers.

All outlets closed at 7pm, sparking a last-minute rush at many of its drive thrus.

In Ennis, Gardaí were called to help with traffic management after queues of cars backed up onto a main road outside a McDonalds outlet there.

A number of other outlets such as Supermacs, Nandos and Subway also shut this evening.

McDonald's says that it will work with local community groups to responsibly distribute food over the coming days.