Melbourne, May 18 (IANS): Twelve McDnald's outlets in Australia's Victoria state were forced to close on Monday after a delivery driver tested positive for the coronavirus.

The driver interacted with a small number of restaurant staff while asymptomatic, according to McDonald's, and no other employees had tested positive as of Monday morning, reports Xinhua news agency.

The 12 outlets, in the outer suburbs of state capital Melbourne, were temporarily closed for a deep clean, and employees at risk of infection were instructed to stay home for 14 days and get tested.

"Out of an abundance of caution, we have made the decision to close and conduct a deep clean of 12 restaurants in Victoria, following confirmation a truck driver for an external service provider has tested positive for COVID-19," a spokesperson for McDonald's Australia said.

"Potential close contacts and employees who have worked specific shifts during and after the truck driver's delivery have been instructed not to return to work for 14 days and advised to be tested."

Last week, another McDonald's outlet in the same state was closed after recording a COVID-19 cluster of 10 cases.

The Victoria Department of Health identified a link between an employee of that restaurant, and an employee at one of the 12 restaurants the delivery driver visited.

Once the cleaning will be completed, the restaurants will reopen with replacement staff.