THEN AND NOW: How McDonald's changed drastically between 2020 and 2021

Prior to the nationwide shutdowns in March, you'd be unlikely to find a McDonald's employee or customer wearing a mask...just like you would nearly anywhere else.

Thought it wasn't until August 1 that the chain officially began requiring masks and face coverings for customers at all US restaurants, according to USA Today, mask-wearing was commonplace for employees and customers months before it was formally mandated.

At the start of the pandemic, many fast-food chains, including McDonald's, immediately began requiring employees to follow health and safety guidelines like mask-wearing and encouraging physical distancing between crew members and customers when possible.

Experts also believe that it may be a while before you can go into a McDonald's mask-free.

"It's going to be really hard for people to tell apart who has been vaccinated, who hasn't, and who just isn't wearing a mask because they don't want to," Shan Soe-Lin, Ph.D., a lecturer in global affairs at Yale University and epidemiologist told Today. "I would say that until the vaccine is widely available and case counts drop as you would expect with high vaccination coverage, we'll be wearing masks."

At the start of the pandemic in mid-March, McDonald's closed the dining rooms of all its company-owned US locations, and urged franchisees to do the same.

According to CNBC, as of July 1, just 15% of the chain's 14,000 locations had reopened for dine-in service. More have opened since, but many have not — choosing instead to focus on drive-thru and mobile ordering just as they did earlier in the pandemic.

States that allow for indoor and outdoor dining have been able to adjust accordingly with the use of required face masks increased sanitation practices. However, dining rooms are becoming increasingly less important to fast-food executives to bring in sales.

According to a previous article by Business Insider, some chain restaurants, most of which do not have drive-thru models, have permanently closed over 1,500 locations so far as a result of the pandemic.

Plastic and glass barriers, which have now become commonplace at most fast-food chains including McDonald's, were not commonly used before the pandemic.

It's unclear when these barriers might be removed, or if they'll be a mainstay long after the pandemic has subsided.

The McDonald's menu previously offered a great variety of menu items for customers to choose from. The expansive menu included everything from varying sizes of Big Macs to grilled chicken sandwiches and salads.

In March, McDonald's cut a number of items from its menu — including its fan-favorite chicken tenders, salads, bagels, and other items — in order to streamline operations and put more focus on high performers.

Read more: 8 McDonald's menu items that were removed in 2020

McDonald's temporarily removed chicken tenders from the menu as a result of the coronavirus pandemic — however, fans of the beloved menu item fear that the change could become permanent.

The menu at McDonald's is slowly returning to its original size, thanks to new menu items and old favorites being added back to the lineup. Despite removing its grilled chicken sandwich and chicken tenders from the menu, McDonald's is also continuing to focus on new chicken products and even entering what's been called the fast-food chicken sandwich wars.

The chain's spicy nuggets, as well as the Mighty Hot Sauce they came paired with, quickly sold out just two weeks after being released, showing the popularity of chicken products among consumers. Now, the chain has brought them back again for a limited time.

Next month, McDonald's is gearing to release not one, not two, but three new chicken sandwiches — and one that seems to be directly inspired by Chick-fil-A and Popeyes' famous offerings.

A favorite among customers, visitors to McDonald's could get an egg McMuffin, bagel sandwich, or breakfast burrito any time of day.

As outlets were reporting the departure of McDonald's All Day Breakfast back in March, McDonald's USA President Joe Erlinger tweeted, "All day breakfast's response to this news: 'I'll be back.'"

However, nearly a year later, All Day Breakfast still has not returned, and many McDonald's franchisees and workers are rallying for the famous all-day menu to never come back.

Read more: McDonald's All Day Breakfast might have disappeared forever, as workers and franchisees rally against the beloved menu