Apple revealed over the weekend that it is once again shuttering some of its stores as COVID-19 cases continue to climb. All 53 Apple Stores in the company’s home state of California, alongside those in Mexico, Brazil and London will shut their doors temporarily.
Apple has not announced when they will reopen. In the United Kingdom, nonessential stores in Greater London are closed until at least December 30, when guidance will be reviewed.
“Due to current Covid-19 conditions in some of the communities we serve, we are temporarily closing stores in these areas,” Apple said in a statement. “We take this step with an abundance of caution as we closely monitor the situation and we look forward to having our teams and customers back as soon as possible.”
Both California and Greater London have been at the epicenter of fresh waves of coronavirus. In California, there have now been 22,432 deaths and 1.8 million cases. Meanwhile, in London, a reported new coronavirus strain, said to be more infectious, has seen rates double over the past week. Cases have also spiked in Mexico and Brazil.
Apple stores’ tough year
This has been a tough year for Apple stores. (To be clear, it’s been a tough year for the brick-and-mortar retail sector in general.) Apple closed stores in China when the first coronavirus cases were reported. It reopened those locations in March, even as it shuttered every other Apple store globally. Things began to change in May and early June, when Apple stores began reopening their doors. The company periodically closed stores in various locations around the world since then due to regional spikes in COVID-19 cases.
Source: Bloomberg
