McDonald's UK has been forced to deny rumors that it will be reopening next week after a false post began circulating online on April Fools' Day.
The fast food giant closed all of its restaurants in the UK on the same day that Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced that a nationwide lockdown was to be put in place.
However, the April Fools' post led many customers to believe the decision has suddenly been reversed.
The post reads:
"We’re opening again! Mc Donald’s have decided to reopen all UK branches from Monday, April 6th. All branches will only be able to offer drive thru or take away.
Special measures will be put in place to prevent contact and maintain social distancing. Unfortunately, our breakfast menu will not be offered, but our lunch menu will be available all day.
We would like to thank our employees for agreeing to serve you again. Floor guides are still installed and we will have a limit of two customers inside each restaurant.
We will continue to monitor the situation but for now look forward to welcoming you back. [sic]"
Now the official Twitter account of McDonald's UK has confirmed that the rumor is a hoax - and that it would not be reopening next week. It even threw shade at the counterfeit announcement for misspelling 'McDonald's'.
"Lots of people getting in touch about a certain post circulating tonight," it wrote. "It’s fake, we are not reopening next week and any official announcements would come from this page and would spell the brand name correctly…"
On March 23, Boris Johnson announced a nationwide lockdown of the United Kingdom in order to slow the spread of COVID-19. Cafes, pubs, restaurants and non-essential shops were forced to close as a result.
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