Apple briefly closes three shops in response to rising covid charges

Apple briefly shut three shops on Wednesday as Covid circumstances rise across the nation.

A retailer in Miami is closed by way of Thursday, and a retailer in Ontario and one other in Annapolis, Maryland are closed by way of Friday, based on Apple’s web site.

The closures elevate questions concerning the affect of the Covid pandemic on the vacation buying season amid considerations from public well being authorities concerning the affect of the Omicron variant, which seems to be extra transmissible.

“We commonly monitor situations and we’ll regulate our well being measures to help the wellbeing of consumers and workers,” an Apple consultant stated in a press release. “We stay dedicated to a complete method for our groups that mixes common testing with day by day well being checks, worker and buyer masking, deep cleansing and paid sick depart.”

Apple stated that retailer workers will take Covid-19 exams earlier than reopening, so whether or not these shops re-open as scheduled on the web site will rely upon coronavirus situations. Apple’s retail workers have had entry to weekly at-home exams supplied by the corporate since earlier this 12 months.

Apple additionally introduced yesterday that it’ll require face masks for patrons in any respect shops in the US.

Along with retailer closings, Apple has adjusted particular person retailer insurance policies in response to regional situations, together with an emphasis on buyer pickups through on-line purchases as an alternative of in-store buying and rising the quantity of house to social distance.

Apple closed all of its shops in 2020 in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. All shops re-opened earlier this 12 months. Since then, Apple has typically closed particular person shops due to coronavirus situations, together with a Texas location final week.

California, the place Apple is headquartered, has imposed a month-long indoor masks mandate.