A recent COVID-19 outbreak in California has caused Apple Inc to temporarily shut down all of its 53 stores in the state and 16 more in the United Kingdom, following restrictions introduced by the London government.
As a result of the temporary closure, the iPhone maker’s shares went down in the trading after the bell on Friday.
“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,” a spokesman said in an emailed statement.
It remains unclear on when the stores will reopen.
Recently, COVID-19 cases are increasing in the United States and the United Kingdom, with the US having had over 17.4 million infections and about 314,000 deaths.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Saturday imposed an effective lockdown on over 16 million people in England and reversed plans to ease curbs over Christmas. The UK’s other nations, whose response to the pandemic differs from that of England at times, also took action.
Johnson said London and southeast England would now be placed in a new Tier 4 level of lockdown and people in those areas will be required to stay at home except for essential reasons such as work. Non-essential retail will close, as will indoor leisure and entertainment. – Dec 21, 2020
