A McDonald's restaurant has been forced to close after three members of staff tested positive for coronavirus.
The branch at the Whalebone Lane South restaurant in Dagenham confirmed the outbreak on Friday, with the fast food giant temporarily shutting the premises.
All members of staff and Public Health England have been alerted about the outbreak, EssexLive reports.
It is not known when the restaurant will reopen.
A spokesperson for McDonald’s said on Friday (August 28): "This week we proactively decided to temporarily close our Dagenham Fs-Dt restaurant as a precautionary measure following three of our employees testing positive for COVID-19.
"We have contacted all restaurant employees, as well as Public Health England.
"As with all of the decisions we have made across this unprecedented period, the safety of our people and customers is our absolute priority, and we will re-open as soon as we feel we can."
Since reopening all branches, some other stores across the UK have reported coronavirus cases among members of staff.
Earlier this month, a McDonald's at Stamfordham Road in Newcastle underwent a deep clean after a member of staff tested positive for Covid-19.
Government guidance says that a pub or restaurant which has been confirmed as having a positive case or cases of Covid-19 won’t necessarily need to close, as it will depend on the circumstances.
The current guidance says: "If anyone develops symptoms of Covid-19 in the business or workplace they should be sent home and advised to follow the stay at home guidance and seek a test.
"If a member of staff has helped someone who has developed symptoms of Covid-19, they do not need to go home unless they develop symptoms themselves.
"They should wash their hands thoroughly for 20 seconds after any contact with someone who is unwell with symptoms consistent with COVID-19 infection.
"If the person who has been sent home is subsequently confirmed as having Covid-19, they may be contacted by NHS Test and Trace and asked to self-isolate.
"It is not necessary to close the business or workplace or send any staff home unless you are advised to do so following investigation by the relevant authorities. You should keep monitoring the government response to Covid-19 for further updates."
