KFC, Burger King sales surge after McDonald’s closes temporarily

Singapore — McDonald’s has closed all its outlets here temporarily after seven of its employees tested positive for Covid-19 last week. It has suspended all operations, including take-out and delivery meals, for the next two weeks.

While the fast-food chain will not re-open until May 4 in Singapore, a spokesman for the company was quoted by straitstimes.com as giving the assurance that the jobs of all its more than 10,000 employees are secure and that they will continue to be paid during the two-week closure.

Meanwhile, bad news for McDonald’s seemed to turn into good news for two of its competitors — Burger King and KFC.

Both fast-food restaurants took to Facebook on Sunday afternoon to say that they were receiving many orders and to ask patrons to be patient as they would have to wait a little while longer for their orders.

Burger King wrote: “Our kitchens are experiencing a high volume due to the recent increase in orders. Delivery and waiting times are expected to be longer. We seek your kind understanding and patience as our crew works hard to serve up your favourite BK meals.”

As for KFC, its statement read: “With the recent increase in demand for Takeaway and Delivery, we seek your understanding and patience as our team continues to do our best in serving you the yummy fried chicken we all love.”

However, both posts drew comments from unhappy customers.

McDonald’s advised by Ministry of Health to temporarily halt all store operations

In a Facebook post last Monday (April 13), the fast-food giant said that the staff who had been infected worked at the Lido, Forum Galleria, Parklane and Geylang East Central branches and had been placed under quarantine in medical facilities. At that point, only employees from those outlets were asked to take a 14-day Leave of Absence.

The four restaurants were then closed for deep-cleaning.

On Sunday, McDonald’s said it was advised by the Ministry of Health to temporarily halt all store operations. It took its final drive-through and delivery orders at 8 am and 10.30 am that day.

Mr Kenneth Chan of McDonald’s issued a statement on Sunday: “These are indeed unprecedented times for all of us. We have done all we can to put in place every safety precautionary measure to keep our employees and customers safe — and will continue to do our part to flatten the curve. Most of all, we will continue to stay strong as a brand and people to ride out this difficult period together. As always, we thank our customers for their continued support and look forward to serving them again on May 5.” /TISG