KELSEY WILKIE and TITA SMITH
11 March 2020
DAILY MAIL AUSTRALIA
McDonald’s has banned the use of reusable coffee cups in a bid to stop the spread of coronavirus.
The fast food giant has suspended the use of the environmentally-friendly cups for all of its stores across Australia and New Zealand.
‘At McDonald’s, the safety of our customers, people and the food and drinks we serve is of the utmost importance,’ a McDonald’s Australia spokesman said.
‘We have made the decision to suspend the use of reusable coffee cups at restaurants across the country at this time.’
Other businesses have also banned reusable coffee cups amid the outbreak of the deadly virus.
Bonnie Coffee, on Margaret Street in central Sydney, fixed a notice on their front door last week to alert beverage seekers that ‘customer-owned’ cups would no longer be permitted.
The coffee outlet said the temporary shift is one of several steps the business is taking to protect staff and members of the public from the illness.
In response to ongoing concern around the COVID-19 Coronavirus, Bonnie Coffee is taking some extra precautions to ensure both customers and staff members are safe from potential infection,’ the announcement read.
‘For the coming weeks we will suspend the use of customer-owned reusable cups to prevent foreign objects from being introduced to the beverage preparation space.
The coffee retailer added it was installing disinfectant stations and assured customers that staff would be extra vigilant while handling food and drink products.
‘Customers will find alcohol sanitiser available for their use at various locations around the store,’ the note continued.
‘Staff members will be increasing sanitation efforts across the cafe as an added safety measure, particularly in food and beverage preparation.
The eatery has a second Australian franchise on Collins Street, in Melbourne’s CBD.
It is unclear if the Victorian store has also implemented the precautionary measure.
A Bonnie Coffee spokesman told Daily Mail Australia that reusable cups would still be available for those who dine in-store.
‘Customers can use a single use coffee cup or our store’s glass / ceramic cups,’ he said.
‘Our store’s cups are washed in industrial high-pressure sanitizing dishwashers.
CORONAVIRUS CASES IN AUSTRALIA: 116
New South Wales: 61
Victoria: 21
Queensland: 18
South Australia: 7
Western Australia: 6
Tasmania: 2
Northern Territory: 1
TOTAL CASES: 116
DEAD: 3
The spokesman acknowledged that people may hold environmental concerns, but expressed that the health of customers and staff remains the business’ number one priority.
‘We acknowledge that this might not be as environmentally friendly as many would like but we have to put the health and safety of our customers and staff first at this time,’ he said.
‘This will be a temporary measure and we look forward to returning to using keep cups again in the near future.’
Coffee giant Starbucks also announced the use of personal cups would be paused in stores across the United States, the UK and Canada last week.
As of Wednesday, there were 116 confirmed cases of coronavirus cases in Australia, including three deaths. That figure is expected to rise as people have been swarming medical centres and hospitals to be tested for the virus.
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