S’pore Launch of McDonald’s BTS Meal Delayed Nearly A Month to 21 Jun Due to Recent Spike in COVID-19 Cases

When COVID-19 knocks on your door, everything stops. 

First it was friend gathering plans, then the Singapore-Hong Kong travel bubble, and now, the much-anticipated McDonald’s BTS meal.

BTS Meal Launch Delayed to 21 June

Sorry, K-Pop fans. 

In a Facebook post by McDonald’s on Monday, 24 May, the fast-food chain announced it would be selling the much-hyped meal on 21 June instead, nearly a month after its originally scheduled start date of 27 May. 

The recent spike in COVID-19 cases here is likely to have contributed to the deferral; launch dates in other countries are unaffected.

The special item is likely to attract large crowds eager to try the new meal, many of whom may be unvaccinated. 

The crowds are also likely to be predominantly young, and are more vulnerable to the more infectious B1617 strain making its way around here. Anyone who catches the virus can then bring it home, causing a cluster.

The BTS Meal includes Chicken McNuggets, fries, and a drink. 

Which sounds like… a regular Chicken McNuggets meal. Anyway, to make it sound special, the nuggets will be paired with sweet chilli and cajun dipping sauces, in homage to popular recipes in South Korea.

That doesn’t stop it from being sold in nearly 50 countries, launched across May and June. The last launch date is Indonesia’s, on 25 June.

A moment of patriotism that we are still ahead of Indonesia.

In October 2018, the BTS concert saw its Singapore tickets fully sold in less than four hours, even though it was scheduled for a year later in 2019.

Fans queued overnight to secure the limited BTS merchandise available, which went on sale at 9am on concert day.

New Song from BTS

The good news is that BTS’ second English song, “Butter”, will be released quite on schedule. In the music video, the group first appeared in black and white with slick monochromatic suits before dancing in vibrant technicolour across a variety of places.

One shot even featured a plate of what looked like a McDonald’s hotcake. How fitting.

The group hoped the song would “melt your hearts like butter”, according to Rolling Stone. As for whether it actually does, you can watch the music video below.

Featured Image: Facebook (McDonald’s)