Many food and beverage chains are taking extra precautions to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, and now, Starbucks has joined them. More than 100,000 people around the world have been infected by the novel coronavirus, COVID-19.
As a result of precautions being taken, Baristas at Starbucks are not filling personal cups or “for here” mugs when you come to the store. If you do bring your own refillable cup or ask for an option in-store, you will still receive a 10 cent discount.
Starbucks has taken a number of actions to help with public health during this time of crisis. They are also sanitizing and deep cleaning company-operated locations. Information is also being provided to stores to let them know what to do if they are impacted by the coronavirus.
The Starbucks Corporation has suspended any business-related air travel through the end of March. Large meetings, both in the United States and Canada have been either postponed or modified.
The president of US and Canada company-operated business for Starbucks, Rossann Williams, provided a statement outlining the actions they are taking:
“We’ll continue to do what is right for our customers and partners. Our hope – as always – is that after this is over partners will look back and say, ‘I can’t believe I work for a company that cared so much for me, my family and my community.’”
Both Pizza Hut and KFC have also started a contactless delivery service in China to help reduce the possibility of person-to-person transmission of the coronavirus.