WITH the coronavirus outbreak in China continuing to spread, McDonald’s Corp., Starbucks Corp. and other fast-food companies are ramping up “contactless” pickup and delivery services to keep their workers and customers safe, the companies said. McDonald’s has implemented contactless pickup and delivery of Big Macs, fries and other menu items across China as the outbreak has unfolded. Customers order remotely — on mobile phones or by computers in store — and employees seal the meals in bags and put them in a special spot for pickup without human contact, McDonald’s says on its website. For delivery orders, drivers drop McDonald’s packages at building entrances, disinfect their delivery bags and wash their hands more frequently. Drivers carry ID cards showing that they — and the people who made and packaged their food — had their body temperature scanned to prove they do not have a fever. “While we look at how to further improve the process, the stepped-up preventive measures apply to all of our servicing channels,” McDonald’s said in a statement. The flu-like virus has infected more than 68,500 people globally and killed 1,665 as of Sunday, mostly in the central Chinese province of Hubei. In early February, 83 percent of all stores on the Meituan-Dianping delivery platform, one of the largest in the country, were closed, according to Beijing-based data firm BigOne Lab. (SD-Agencies) |