McDonald’s has said it will close all of its restaurants in the UK and Ireland as the Covid-19 outbreak intensifies.

Last week, prime minister Boris Johnson asked restaurants, cafes and pubs to close “as soon as they reasonably can” to enforce safe social distancing measures, although this did not extend to takeaway outlets.

However, McDonald’s, the UK’s largest takeaway service, has since decided to close all of its restaurants, a move which will see more than 1,300 stores close and around 135,000 employees without work.

“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 in the best interests of our customers.

A statement from McDonald’s said: “We have taken the difficult decision to close all McDonald’s restaurants in the UK and Ireland by 7pm on Monday 23rd March at the latest.

“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 in the best interests of our customers.

“We will work with local community groups to responsibly distribute food and drink from our restaurants in the coming days.”

Other foodservice outlets, such as Costa Coffee and Nando’s, have also decided to close their stores until further notice, with Burger King and KFC closing all seating areas of their restaurants, with takeaway and drive-through facilities still in operation.