Nando’s and McDonald’s to close across Ireland from today

The restaurants will close due to the spread of Covid-19 across Ireland.

McDonald's and Nando's have both announced that all of their restaurants across Ireland will be closed from today (23 March) onward. Chief Executive Officer of McDonald's UK & Ireland Paul Pomroy said: "This is not a decision we are taking lightly but one made with the well-being and safety of our employees in mind as well as the best interests of our customers. "Over the last 24 hours, it has become clear that maintaining safe social distancing whilst operating busy takeaway and Drive Thru restaurants is increasingly difficult. "Therefore we have taken the decision to close every restaurant in the UK and Ireland by 7pm on Monday 23 March at the latest." McDonald's has a total of 95 restaurants across Ireland. Nando's also announced that all of its restaurants will be closed, saying that food will be given to those who need it most across the community. A statement from the restaurant said: "The safety and security of our customers and team is always our top priority and with this in mind we have taken the decision to temporarily close all of our restaurants across the UK and Ireland." Sunday night's update from the Department of Health found that there was an 121 new cases of coronavirus confirmed in Ireland, bringing the country's total to 906.