On Friday March 13, Apple announced it was closing all of its retail stores outside China. It was an early retailer to take action, but most countries and states soon forced the closure of similar stores anyway.
While the company has since reopened many stores with specific restrictions and protections in place, it always left the door open to re-closing stores should the situation merit. Apparently, the recent surge in COVID-19 cases in some states has crossed the threshold, causing Apple to close stores.
When contacted for comment, Apple told Bloomberg News, “Due to current COVID-19 conditions in some of the communities we serve, we are temporarily closing stores in these areas. 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.”
