KFC has announced it will close all its restaurants in the UK and Ireland due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Just two days ago, on Saturday (March 21), the fried chicken restaurant chain said its branches would close its seating areas but would still be open for takeaways, drive-thrus and home deliveries.

But as of 5pm today, the fast food chain's UK and Ireland Twitter account announced it will close all its restaurants by Wednesday "until further notice".

The announcement comes after several other big chains, including McDonald's and Nando's, announced they would be closing

KFC's full statement, which it tweeted, read: "We've decided, together with our franchise partners, to begin closing our restaurants to help protect the wellbeing and safety of our teams and of our guests.

"We're committed to doing this in the right way and are focussed on closing responsibly - to prepare our restaurants teams, help our suppliers and minimise food waste. Restaurants will begin closing from now. They will all close by Wednesday (March 25) until further notice.

"It's not a decision we've taken lightly, but it's in the best interests of both our incredible teams and all the fans that love our chicken.

"Speaking of chicken, we serve fresh, quality food, so we're working really hard to prevent as much going to waste as possible. Over the coming days, we'll find safe and efficient ways to distribute any unused food - which will include working with our longstanding Food Donation Scheme partners to make sure we're giving to those who need it most. This is already underway in cities across the country and we're so grateful to our partners for their continued support.

Read more: McDonald's, Primark, and Costa among chains to close amid pandemic

"Finally, to all of our teams who have been working under such tricky and uncertain circumstances, we thank you deeply. You've been amazing.

"More updates to come - we'll keep you posted.

"Until then, stay safe and look after each other... we're looking forward to winging our way back to you soon!"