Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Apple has closed several of its retail stores around the world. It was only in June 2021 that all Apple Stores around the world were open simultaneously for the first time in 75 weeks, but now the company has once again decided to close some of its U.S. and Canada stores due to the new COVID-19 variant.
As reported by Bloomberg, Apple temporarily closed its stores in Miami, Maryland, and Ottawa as a response to the recent increase in the number of COVID-19 cases. The news comes a day after the company reinstated a mandate for masks in all of its retail stores in the United States.
Apple Inc. has temporarily closed three retail stores in the U.S. and Canada after a rise in employee Covid-19 cases and exposures, the latest sign that a virus resurgence is threatening retail operations just before Christmas.
The company said that all employees will take Covid-19 tests prior to the stores reopening and that it’s staying in touch with the affected workers. Store closures due to a rise in internal Covid cases typically last for a few days.
Earlier this month, the company had already closed an Apple Store in Texas due to an outbreak of COVID-19 among employees. The new Omicron variant now accounts for 3% of COVID-19 cases in the US, which is certainly raising new concerns for Apple and other companies.
It’s unclear so far whether Apple is planning to close more stores around the world, but this seems extremely likely considering the spread of the COVID-19 variants.
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