McDonald's to restart takeout service at 30 locations across Canada

Fast food chain McDonald's is taking its first cautious steps toward getting back to normal, as the company says it will soon restart in-persontakeout services at 30 of its restaurants across Canada.

Like many restaurants, the chain shut its doors across the country as the COVID-19 pandemic led to social distancing measures that made it impossible to stay open for in-person dining. Some locations did remain open on a drive-through basis and for various food delivery services, but Thursday's news is the first time customers will be able to set foot inside the restaurants in more than two months.

"To keep our guests and hardworking employees safe, we're approaching every stage of this transition gradually, beginning with enhanced safeguards in a small group of restaurants that we will test and learn from,"said Doug Fry, the company's senior director of national operations.

The plan is to reopen 30 restaurants across the country. Fourteen of them will be in Ontario, mostly in the GTA but also in Ottawa.

Two are in Manitoba, four are in British Columbia and five are in Alberta.

Numerous safety precautions will be in place, including a limit on the number of customers in store at any given time, and the chain says it will frequently clean and sanitize high touch areas such as kiosks and washrooms.

Drink refills and reusable mugs will remain on hold, and condiment stations closed.