19:26

The Sushi fast food chain, YO! Sushi, has revealed that 54 of its restaurants will permanently close at the end of service on Wednesday.

In an email sent to employees seen by the Guardian, the company said that the decision had come “in light of the escalating uncertainty of Covid-19” and followed “some very difficult decisions”.

“Regrettably, we have had to take this action as it is clearly in the interests of public health to do so and there is nothing more important than that, in particular our responsibilities to the elderly and vulnerable,” the email said.

It currently unclear which restaurants will be included, but at least one branch in London is set to shut.

One employee, who wished to remain anonymous, said: “This is a lot to come to terms with. A week ago we were all talking about the future and what we can do with the restaurant, now we’re shut. It’s so much to process in such a short space of time.”

YO! Sushi has almost 100 restaurants operating across 8 countries, 70 of which are located in the UK.