Fast-food fans lined up for their final fix this evening before McDonald's closes its doors amid the coronavirus shutdown.

The chain, famous for the Big Mac, shut its branches up and down the UK at 7pm today.

Enormous queues snaked around the block in the UK this afternoon as hungry drive-through customers made one final pilgrimage to the Golden Arches for the foreseeable future. 

McDonald's announced on Sunday that it had made the 'difficult decision' to temporarily shut down their restaurants from Monday, March 23 as Covid-19 fears escalate.

Fast food chains Greggs, KFC and Nando's have followed suit and also announced the closures of their restaurants.


















Desperate customers wait for their last McDonald's meal for the foreseeable future at Castleford, West Yorkshire



















With every UK and Ireland branch of McDonald's to close from 7pm, customers on Tyneside made one final pilgrimage to the golden arches before the fast food firm becomes the latest coronavirus casualty







Massive queues form at the McDonald's restaurant in Byker, Newcastle. The chain will close nationwide at 7pm







Pictured: Customers queue outside Stockton's McDonald's as the restaurant prepares to close







McHurry! Cars queue to get into the McDonald's in Swaythling, Southampton, following the news that the fast food chain closed stores at 7pm







An employee wears a mask to serve customers at a McDonald's drive-thru near Dover in Kent







Will it be a Happy Meal or will you go for a Chicken Legend? People lined up in Dover for their last McDonald's










However, that resulted in huge queues outside McDonald's restaurants in the North East.

Vehicles queued to get to the drive-thru at restaurants at Silverlink, Team Valley and Byker.

At least ten cars were crammed into the drive-thru space in Tyneside this afternoon as many got what could be their final Mcdonald's for months to come. 

This is while in Kent a line had also formed around the restaurant. 






Queues for McDonald's in Borehamwood, in Hertfordshire, as they look to get their last taste a Big Mac for the foreseeable future







RELATED ARTICLES


Previous

1

2

Next




Rishi Sunak to announce cash bail-out for five million... Britain's high streets shut down: Now Greggs and KFC is...

'It's time to thank our heroes': NHS staff are left in tears...




Share this article

Share




















Drivers form a long queue to use a McDonald's drive-thru near Dover in Kent this afternoon 







A shorter version of the statement posted on the McDonald's Twitter account last night that details its reasons for closure 







Drivers form a long queue to use a McDonald's drive-thru near Dover in Kent this afternoon







Cars were seen in Tyneside this afternoon, but what will they choose? Fillet o fish or chicken selects 


In Byker in Newcastle queues were around the street for people trying to order their last treat. 

In one branch in Cambridgeshire, customers were not respecting social distancing guidelines and the police had to be called to 'ask them to leave'.    

Cambridgeshire Live reported that drive through traffic was backing up in Barnwell this afternoon because of the amount of people wanting to eat. 

In the Wirral, queues for the drive-thru service went beyond the car park at the Upton restaurant with customers 'literally queuing out the door', Twitter user @stubeanhead said.


















Would you like any sauce with that? McDonald's employees in Tyneside would have been rushed off their feet this afternoon







As the death toll continues to rise in the UK people lined up to get served this afternoon in Tyneside 


He added: 'The queue for the drive through starts at the roundabout off the junction. How desperate are these people to have a burger? Are they willing to risk other people lives?'

There were long tail-backs at Gidea Park's restaurant in Romford, while there were similar scenes in Sleaford in Lincolnshire and Birmingham.

In Mansfield, staff from various stores were forced to manage the masses of traffic.

As well as McDonald's, Costa Coffee, Subway and Nando's also announced the temporary closure of all their UK sites.

In a statement regarding its closure Paul Pomroy, Chief Executive Officer of McDonald's in the UK & Ireland said: 'Over the last 24 hours, it has become clear that maintaining safe social distancing whilst operating busy takeaway and Drive Thru restaurants is increasingly difficult and therefore we have taken the decision to close every restaurant in the UK and Ireland by 7pm on Monday 23rd March at the latest.'

The decision comes after Prime Minister Boris Johnson called for pubs, clubs and restaurants to shut on Friday, although he stressed they could continue with a takeaway service. 






One man was seen walking out with a carton of drinks as well as his food order this afternoon as other people went in 







Cars were seen outside one McDonald's in Kent this afternoon as many got their last fast-food fix




 



Britain's high streets shut down: 육아 Now Greggs and KFC is closing stores as restaurants and cafes including McDonald's, Nandos and Costa shut up shop even for takeaways amid coronavirus crisis

by Terri-Ann Williams

Britain's high streets will shut down this evening as many retailers and eateries including Greggs, Nandos, John Lewis, KFC and McDonald's shut their doors amid the coronavirus crisis.

Costa Coffee along with dozens of other eateries closed their doors this morning as other businesses prepare to shut shop tonight. 

Many chains said they would be temporarily shutting stores in the UK, as retailers all over the country begin to deal with the fall out from the illness that has so far killed 335 people, with over 6,650 cases having been confirmed.






Shops across the UK have closed in a bid to curb the spread of the coronavirus, pictured above is H&M on Oxford Street, London 







A shorter version of the statement posted on the McDonald's Twitter account last night that details its reasons for closure 







Joggers and cyclists out and about in London today, a woman was seen running past a closed Pret A Manger on Oxford Street







The Microsoft store in London had a sign on the window this morning that stated it was 'committed to the health and safety of customers and employees'










This afternoon pastry favourite Greggs said it will close its entire store estate from the end of business on Tuesday, saying operating a takeaway service was not enough to maintain social distancing.

INDEXED BY:

         

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. 

CSRID Journal Editor's Office:

Universitas Potensi Utama. Jl. K.L. Yos Sudarso Km 6,5 No.3-A Telp. (061) 6640525 Ext. 214 Tanjung Mulia Medan 20241