From McDonald’s to Chipotle, Customer Mask Mandates Among New Trend For Fast Food Chains

In an attempt to stop the spread of COVID-19 as cases spike, fast food restaurants like McDonald’s and Chipotle announced that they are implementing mandates for customers to wear masks or face coverings at their locations worldwide.

Two weeks ago when representatives from Burger King reached out to place a hefty order of face masks from CovCare, the multinational chain of hamburger fast food restaurants owned by Restaurant Brands International was doing more than their due diligence about protecting their extensive staff members as essential workers.

They were becoming an early leader in issuing an all-employee mandate to wear both masks and gloves, a trend that is growing more popular amongst fast food chains across the United States and worldwide amid the Coronavirus pandemic. For fast food restaurants like Burger King, Popeyes, Taco Bell, and KFC, wearing a mask and gloves has become part of their workers standard uniform. But what about everyday customers who frequent their favorite fast food chain? 

Late last week, Chipotle also announced that they “proactively made the decision” to require guests to wear masks in all of their 2,630 restaurants and have already installed signage in locations to let people know about the policy.

Now another fast food giant is taking actions a step further across the industry as McDonald’s recently announced they will require customers to wear masks or face coverings when entering its restaurants nationwide beginning on August 1st in an attempt to stop the spread of COVID-19 as cases spike. 

"The intent of this policy is to take a proactive approach and focus on quickly finding solutions when customers are unable or unwilling to wear a face covering," said Joe Erlinger, McDonald's USA president, and Mark Salebra, National Franchise Leadership Alliance chair in a press release. 

"In those situations where a customer declines to wear a face covering, we’ll put in place additional procedures to take care of them in a friendly, expedited way."

As part of their statement, McDonald’s maintains that they will also provide a mask for any customer without one.

Expect other fast food chains to begin putting similar practices into place with mask mandates offering better protection for both employees and their loyal consumers alike. Considering the alternative in some cases, the decision to pass customer mask-wearing for fast food business is a welcomed prevention against the spread of the Coronavirus. Last week, at least 28 employees at Chick-Fil-A restaurants across Colorado tested positive for COVID-19, with 19 more considered probable according to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. To date, COVID-19 outbreaks have been confirmed at 13 fast food restaurants in Colorado.

“Our highest priority is the health and well-being of our Team Members and Guests. If a Team Member is diagnosed with COVID-19, the restaurant initiates the response protocol and takes precautionary measures, including disinfecting and deep cleaning the restaurant. Safe service is our top priority and our restaurants continue to follow CDC and local health department guidelines,” Chic-Fil-A’s corporate office announced.

Now it looks like placing an order for more masks and gloves could be the hottest thing on the menu these days.

Connect with CovCare on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook