Starbucks has banned reusable cups, citing fears that they could help spread the Coronavirus.
“We are pausing the use of personal cups and ‘for here’ ware in our stores,” executive vice president Rossann Williams said in a statement.
The company said it decided to ban the cups due to concerns for ‘health and well-being’. However, Starbucks said it feels “optimistic that this will be a temporary situation”.
Williams said that customers would still be able to avail their discounts (10 per cent) by bringing in their own cup, but the company would not be filling it.
According to Starbucks, more than 1.3 per cent of customers in the Middle East, the United States and Europe were served drinks in their own reusable cups.
This comes as the number of infected people tops 100,000.
According to Williams, Starbucks has also taken increased measures with regards to sanitation.
Starting now, there is “Increased cleaning and sanitizing for all company-operated stores to help prevent the spread of all germs, adding paid time for our partners supporting this work.”
According to Starbucks, more than half of all its stores in China have shut down due to the outbreak there.
