McDonalds is re-opening some of its walk-in restaurants this week on a trial basis.
The restaurant had been limiting its services to drive through only during level 5 restrictions.
A small number of branches will re-open this week on a trial basis, with McDonalds saying it hopes to have the majority of restaurants open for walk-in takeaway across Ireland from February 22nd.
A spokesperson for McDonalds says: "A month ago we made the voluntary decision to temporarily close our walk-in takeaway while we reviewed our safety measures to ensure they reflect the evolving nature of the COVID-19 pandemic. Working closely with third party safety expert NSF International, we identified a small number of changes to further enhance our procedures, and we are currently in the process of rolling these out to restaurants.
We are pleased to remain open, but with a few changes. We know this is a really difficult time for everyone and we really appreciate your patience and kindness, both with our crew and online. pic.twitter.com/ftMei6nXe0
— McDonald's Ireland (@McDonaldsIRL) January 5, 2021
"This week, a small number of our restaurants will trial reopening walk-in takeaway with these enhancements in place, with the plan to reopen the majority of restaurants for walk-in takeaway across Ireland from Monday 22nd February.
"New safety measures being introduced include visors as well as face coverings for customer facing employees, revised guidance and processes for our couriers to support their safe working and enhanced processes for managing customer and courier flow in restaurants.
"Once again, we would like to thank our franchisees, managers and employees for their ongoing commitment in supporting and implementing all of our updated procedures. The wellbeing of our people, as well as our suppliers, couriers and our customers remains our top priority, and we are confident the new processes in place will further enhance our already robust safety measures."