Apple has temporarily closed all 53 of its retail stores in California after the number of coronavirus cases reached new daily records in its home state this week. A listing of stores on the phone maker’s website reflects the change, which does not affect bordering states Arizona and Nevada.
The move shows how a major technology company is trying to reduce spread of the virus for employees and consumers, despite potential business impact.
“Due to current Covid-19 conditions in some of the communities we serve, we are temporarily closing stores in these areas,” an Apple spokesperson told CNBC in an email. “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.”
Customers can still pick up existing orders and products the Genius Bar has repaired over the next few days, the spokesperson said.
On Friday Bloomberg reported that Apple had temporarily closed its stores in the Los Angeles area, one day after the state said Southern California had run out of intensive care unit beds.
On Wednesday California said it had 53,711 new Covid-19 cases, breaking the record of 35,729 that had been set on Sunday… CNBC News
