Apple will reopen five of its retail stores in Beijing tomorrow, although only for limited hours. The stores will open between 11am and 6pm local time, compared with the usual 10am through 10pm 12-hour opening hours.
Apple made the decision to close all 42 of its Apple Stores in China as a result of the outbreak of coronavirus. Originally, it planned to reopen them on February 10. However, retail chief Deidre O’Brien later revealed that this reopening time was being pushed back further.
While Apple will reopen five of its Apple Stores in Beijing, its stores in other parts of mainland China — including cities like Shanghai and Shenzhen — will remain closed.
“In view of public health and prevention, some of our retail stores are temporarily closed,” Apple says in a note on its website. It also asks that customers visiting the reopened stores wearing a surgical mask and cooperate with temperature taking.
More than 1,355 people have so far died in China as a result of the COVID-19 coronavirus. On Wednesday, 242 people died of the virus. That is the highest in a single day, and more than 2x the previous record high.
Alongside the closure of Apple Stores, coronavirus has hit Apple’s contract manufacturers. Some factories are now starting to open. But they have vastly reduced workforces and must be willing to undergo virus control safety checks.
Source: Reuters
