The COVID-19 pandemic continues. Which means that there are still some changes that companies and people will need to work with. For example, following a surge in new exposures and cases, Apple has decided to close some of its physical retail stores in the United States and Canada.
Yes, again. This time, it’s not as big a sweep as the first time. According to a report from Bloomberg, Apple has opted to close stores in Miami, Florida; Annapolis, Maryland; and Ottawa, Canada. This is in light of the new coronavirus variant, and a surge in exposures and cases. As of right now, there are only three stores being temporarily closed.
However, it’s possible that will change depending on how the case numbers spread.
Apple provided a comment on the matter:
We regularly monitor conditions and we will adjust our health measures to support the well-being of customers and employees,’ Apple said in a statement. ‘We remain committed to a comprehensive approach for our teams that combines regular testing with daily health checks, employee and customer masking, deep cleaning and paid sick leave.
As mentioned above, this is a temporary measure. Apple already has a plan in place for when stores reopen at some point in the future:
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.
Apple says that it’s possible these store closures will only be in place for a “few days,” but, of course, anything can change between now and then. For now, though, this shouldn’t be a longstanding change, and customers in those areas should be able to visit their stores again soon enough.
This is another change that Apple has made recently regarding the ongoing pandemic. Just yesterday, for instance, Apple reinstated the mask mandate at all of its retail stores in the United States.