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SAN FRANCISCO (BLOOMBERG) – Apple is temporarily closing all of its retail stores in California, as well as those in the London metropolitan area affected by a new lockdown, and other markets that have seen an increase in Covid-19 cases.
The Cupertino, California-based company said on its website on Saturday (December 19) that it will close all 53 locations in the Golden State, a day after saying it would close its stores in the Los Angeles area. The closure escalation now covers its top locations in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Apple did not say when they would reopen.
The closings come in the middle of the holiday shopping season. Apple had been looking to surpass US $ 100 billion (S $ 130 billion) in quarterly revenue for the first time from sales of the iPhone 12, its latest iPads, and the new Apple watches.
California has been the center of the pandemic in the United States in recent weeks. Total cases in the state passed the 1.8 million mark on Saturday, when it added 43,608 new infections and 272 deaths, for a total of 22,432 deaths.
The measure also includes Apple’s retail stores at its Silicon Valley offices. It marks one of the largest Apple store closings since the start of the pandemic in March.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson imposed a total lockdown on London and south-east England in an attempt to stop a new strain of coronavirus spreading rapidly across the country.
Covid-19 case rates nearly doubled in London over the past week, and nearly 60 percent of these infections were attributed to the new strain of the virus, according to government officials.
“Due to current Covid-19 conditions in some of the communities we serve, we are temporarily closing stores in these areas,” Apple said in a statement. “We are taking this step with great caution as we closely monitor the situation and hope that our teams and customers will return as soon as possible.”
Apple had reopened the vast majority of its more than 270 US stores in recent months, although most of the locations were by appointment only. For the stores that are still open, Apple has moved many into what it calls “Express” stores. That turns the front of the locations into bank teller-like lines for people to buy products and pick up items shipped for repair.
The iPhone maker will also temporarily close its stores in Mexico and Brazil as cases increase in both countries.
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