Kentucky Fried COVID: KFC close dining rooms in Florida over new cases

Florida reported a large 12,600 new coronavirus cases today, with KFC announcing shortly after that it would be closing its dining rooms down in the state because of the COVID-19 outbreak.

Reuters reports that KFC would be closing its dining rooms in corporate-owned stories throughout Florida "because of the escalation in coronavirus cases in the state, according to a letter seen by Reuters". The letter that Reuters says that it has seen was from KFC U.S. Chief Operating Officer Monica Rothgery to franchisees.

Rothgery said in the letter that its restaurants in Florida would be drive-thru only for now, suggesting that owner-operators do the same thing in "hot spots" where COVID-19 outbreaks are happening. Rothgery suggested that states like Arizona, California, Florida and Texas do the same to their KFC restaurants -- close dining rooms.

KFC said in a statement: "This guidance is part of our continued efforts to prioritize the health of our team members, customers, and the communities where they live and work".