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TOPLINE
International coffee chain Starbucks announced Tuesday that 85% of its U.S. stores will be open by end of the week with “responsible” tactics that focus on take-out.
SOUTH PASADENA, CA – APRIL 07: A Starbucks employee serves a drive-through customer amid the … [+]
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KEY FACTS
The stores will take orders via app and pickup, drive-thru and Uber Eats with dine-in service suspended indefinitely.
Starbucks shut down all U.S. stores without drive-thrus—about 6,000—on March 20, offering pay to its nationwide workforce of about 181,000 for 30 days regardless of whether they worked or not, with cash bonuses for those who took shifts.
15,000 of US Starbucks are already operating as drive-through only, and 60% of the chain’s locations have a drive-through option available.
Starbucks expects 90% of its stores to reopen by mid-June, says CNN.
Starbucks’ gradual reopening comes as many states around the country have taken steps to reopen their economies, with many allowing restaurants to operate with reduced capacity, take-out or curbside pick-up only, or with food delivery services.
This announcement was made a day after the New York Times published a report from the Trump Administration that the daily death toll could reach 3,000 by June 1, nearly double the country’s current COVID-19 deaths.
Key background
The report obtained by the Times the CDC said that the U.S. could see 200,000 new COVID-19 cases per day by June, compared to the current load of 25,000 per day. This is a direct result of states around the country reopening businesses like barber shops, tattoo parlors, restaurants and gyms, without contact tracing and testing needed to make science-informed decisions on reopening, says CNN.
Further Reading
Starbucks Has A Plan For Gradually Reopening. Here’s How It Will Work (CNN)
Models Project Sharp Rise in Deaths as States Reopen (New York Times)
The Price Of Reopening The Economy: Tens Of Thousands Of American Lives (CNN)
Mnuchin Says Trump Is Focused On Boosting Travel Industry With Tax Breaks And Stimulus (Forbes)
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