Six counties in the San Francisco Bay Area initiated a shelter-in-place mandate Monday that will force businesses, including Apple stores, in the area to temporarily shut down for three weeks. The goal is to stop the spread of the COVID-19 virus.

Nearly 7 million people will be forced to stay inside except to visit grocery stores, pharmacies or doctor’s offices. The new mandate means Apple stores in the area will remain closed longer than Apple’s originally intended time frame. The company initially intended to reopen its stores on March 27.

Is Apple running out of room in Cupertino proper? Perhaps, as new details have emerged that show Apple planning to occupy a new site that could contain 1,200 workers or more in Santa Clara, CA. Developer Peery Arrillaga has made a deal with the Cupertino-based tech company to custom tailor a two-building office campus, currently under construction at the north side of Stevens Creek Boulevard, just a few minutes from Cupertino city limits.

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer was at the Churchill Club in Santa Clara this week to be interviewed by LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman. One of the most interesting subjects he talked about was Microsoft’s Windows Phone platform, and how it compares to its two main rivals, Apple’s iOS, and Google’s Android.

As you might expect, he didn’t have many good things to say about his competitors. In fact, he called Android “wild” and “uncontrolled,” before saying the iPhone is too expensive and too controlled. Windows Phone, he feels, sits in a sweet spot between the two.