Apple Stores in Italy reportedly to commence reopening May 19 [Update]

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Apple.Nave.de.Vero
"Benvenuto" will soon be heard at some Apple Stores in Italy.
Photo: Apple

[Update 9:30 am, 05/14/2020: Since our original story ran, the one Apple Store in Italy reportedly planning to reopen next week has changed its hours back to fully closed. We will monitor the situation and report any more details, if warranted.]

Apple reportedly will reopen 10 of its 17 retail store locations in Italy beginning May 19.

As in other locations around the world that have reopened, security measures will be in place to protect customers and employees.

Italian Mac news website iSpazio reported Thursday the 10 locations will exclude the Piedmont region of northwestern Italy bordering France and Switzerland, and the Lombardy region of northern Italy with its capital of Milan.

Both regions have been severely impacted by the spread of the coronavirus since January.

More than 12,000 cases of coronavirus are still being treated in the northern Piedmont province around Bergamo, where around half of Italy’s 30,000 coronavirus deaths have occurred, according to the Italian Health Ministry.

While conditions are improving, local officials have urged caution in reopening businesses.

Cult of Mac has not been able to corroborate these details of the Apple Store reopenings. The report from iSpazio described the information as coming “from an absolutely certain source.”

As the time this story was published, the only store listed as reopening on May 19th through its apple.com listing was the Nave de Vero location in central Venice.

None of the other 17 stores have yet to be scheduled for reopening on their individual web pages through apple.com.

An Apple spokesperson did not immediately respond to request for comment.

Gradual reopenings

Apple has been gradually reopening certain locations closed due to the global coronavirus pandemic.

Apple closed virtually all its retail stores outside Mainland China March 14. Since then, it has open a handful of stores around the world, including two stores in South Korea, one store in Vienna, Austria on May 5, and 21 of its 22 stores throughout Australia on May 7.

All 15 locations in Germany reopened last week.

In a very controlled fashion, Apple Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook told Bloomberg in late April that the company would “look at the data” and make decisions on reopening Apple Stores “city by city, county by county, depending on the circumstances in that particular place.”

The majority of Apple’s 511 stores around the world remain closed. The company operates 27q1 stores in the United States and 238 overseas.

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