Apple Corporation informed employees that all US Apple retail stores will be closed until May. In addition, the Apple Memorandum stated that management held a daily meeting on the COVID-19 epidemic. Apple previously disclosed in an internal memo that Apple retail stores outside Greater China are expected to resume operations in early April. However, with the outbreak of the new coronavirus, it is almost impossible to resume operations.
Earlier in March this year, Apple closed all of its 458 stores outside China. The company also urged its employees to work from home. This is a measure to help stop the spread of the new coronavirus. In March, all Apple stores in Greater China reopened. Apple also thank its operations teams and partners for their outstanding efforts to restore its supply chain.
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Apple retail stores may not open in May
According to Apple SVP of Retail and People, Deirdre O’Brien, the company is closely monitoring the virus situation. Although these stores will remain shut until May, it will only re-open if the situation permits. The company will also rely on recommendation(s) from local governments and public health experts. Recall that in a memo last, O’Brien said that some Apple Stores will open in the first half of April. However, it now appears that this timeline is not feasible considering the current situation in the US.
Presently, the US is one of the worse hit nations by the new coronavirus. As of now, the confirmed cases of COVID-19 continues to increase. As of yesterday, there were over 245,000 COVID-19 positive patients in the US alone. The federal arm is struggling to respond to the situation. For now, quarantine seems to be the best option for both positive and negative persons. Local officials have already called for quarantines and there are shelter-in-place orders to mitigate the fallout from the virus.
