McDonald's restaurants will be closing all its seating areas from one minute past midnight on Thursday to fit with the latest government coronavirus restrictions.

In a letter to all media outlets today (November 2) the head of McDonalds wrote that ALL dining areas across England will close, returning again to just takeaways and Drive Thru.

Paul Pomroy, CEO McDonald's UK & Ireland wrote that he hoped customers would be patient with the latest changes:

"Following the first lockdown, together with our franchisees, we made significant changes to our restaurant operations and kitchens to enhance our health and safety procedures to help keep you our customers and our employees safe. These measures include:

· Fewer people working on each shift, and introducing new measures including additional screens in our kitchens and service areas to provide a safer environment to help you and our teams adhere to social distancing

· Serving a reduced menu with some restaurants running reduced hours

· Hand washing at least every 30 minutes and providing sanitiser for our teams, delivery partners and customers

· Asking customers to respect social distancing guidelines and to wear face coverings when entering the restaurant, using floor markings in our restaurants for takeaway, and signposting routes for customers and delivery partners

· Cleaning surfaces and equipment, including self-order screens and card readers, even more regularly

· Providing our teams with additional protective equipment including face coverings, and using contactless thermometers to check their temperature

The safety of you and our employees is an absolute priority to us. I am incredibly proud of how our restaurant teams have continued to adapt to the new ways of working and I am also grateful for your understanding as we have all got to grips with a new normal. Once again, as we all adjust, I would ask you to be patient with our teams. "

He added : "I know these latest restrictions will impact many people in different ways. I hope you and your loved ones stay safe and well."