KFC shuts all restaurants across UK, Ireland amid coronavirus pandemic
KFC on March 24 announced that it will close all its restaurants across the UK and Ireland in wake of the recent COVID-19 outbreak starting from March 26.
- World News
- 2 min read
KFC on March 24 announced that it will close all its restaurants across the UK and Ireland in wake of the recent COVID-19 outbreak. Only two days earlier, it had announced that it would be open for takeaways, drive-thrus and home deliveries. However, now it has announced that all the restaurants would be shut by March 26 until further notice. This comes as the deadly coronavirus infected 6,650 in UK and 1,125 in Ireland.
Taking to Twitter, the fast chain restaurant released a statement asserting that it had taken the step to ensure the safety of guests and staff. It added that they were also determined to find a way to distribute unused food which included working with their food donation scheme partners and thanked their "amazing" team.
Receives backlash for advertisement
This comes as an advertisement by the company came into a bit of heat amid the rapid spread of the novel coronavirus. While public health organisations around the globe are stressing on the importance of hand-washing to combat the spread of the deadly virus, KFC, on the other hand, recently released an ad to highlight the deeply satisfying lick while relishing one of their fried chickens. According to an international media report, around 160 people have complained to the UK's Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) about the restaurants 'ill-timed Finger Lickin' campaign.
The advertisement shows a montage of diners licking their fingers after having food from KFC. After the release, several people complained to the advertising watchdog and reportedly said that the promotional clip was irresponsible and the behaviours being showcased helped increase the chance of the spread of coronavirus. As per reports, the ASA is currently investigating the complaints and no investigation has been launched as of yet.
Image credit: AP
Published By : Riya Baibhawi
Published On: 24 March 2020 at 05:34 IST