Subway to reopen 25% of stores on phased basis

Staff have been issued personal protective equipment as part of new safety measures for social distancing.

Subway has announced a phased reopening of its stores across Ireland and the UK.

The franchise said that roughly 25% of its stores will begin to reopen from today.

They say new safety measures to maintain social distancing have been introduced in order to protect customers, workers, and delivery drivers.

New introduced measures include supplies of personal protective equipment (PPE) for staff, new signage to ensure social distancing with new fixtures and enhanced hygiene practises.

Subway said that these measures have been tested in the stores that remained open for frontline workers such as hospital staff.

Country Director, Subway UK & Ireland Colin Hughes said that workers and suppliers had shown "great resilience" in adapting to the disruption posed by the coronavirus. He said that Subway is "extremely grateful" for the support as it continues its next phase of reopening.

He said the new operating framework will protect customers, workers, suppliers, and delivery drivers and the franchise would continue to support communities during the virus outbreak.

In a statement, Subway said Health Service Executive (HSE) workers will receive 25% of their orders and that they have donated 250,000 sandwiches to local communities.