Update: Apple is set to re-close more of its stores across the US shortly after they were reopened.
As reported by Reuters, more than two dozen stores will be shut across seven states – California, Oklahoma, Nevada, Louisiana, Alabama, Idaho, Georgia. The closes are due to a rise in coronavirus cases, with the total number of retail closures hitting 77.
Recently, the tech giant closed stores across Florida, Texas, Mississippi and Utah. A further 11 closures occurred last month in South Carolina, Arizona and North Carolina.
Original: Apple is planning to shut down some of its US retail stores once again as coronavirus cases continue to rise in the country.
As reported by Reuters, eleven stores across Florida, Arizona, North Carolina, and South Carolina will be temporarily closed. The news caused shares in the company to fall 0.5 per cent.
Apple’s senior vice president of retail and people Deirdre O’Brien wrote back in May that “a store opening in no way means that we won’t take the preventative step of closing it again should local conditions warrant.”
Preventative measures
The company closed all of its retail stores outside of China in March as coronavirus began to sweep across the planet. The stores began to gradually reopen in May, with nearly 100 stores opened by May 18th.
Apple is now gearing up for a week-long, digital-only edition of its Worldwide Developers Conference, with a keynote planned for 10am PT/1pm ET/6pm BST today. It has also been recently reported that the firm will no longer allow any games on the App Store in China that don’t have an ISBN.