Apple Re-Closing Retail Locations Across Several US States Amid Ongoing COVID-19 Spike

Apple will re-close stores across several US states this week amid an ongoing spike in coronavirus cases, the tech giant announced on Wednesday.

As of Thursday, 77 stores that had reopened are now temporarily closed again, explains a new report from CNBC. Others stores throughout the country are only open for pickup of online orders and by appointment for “in-store Genius Support.”

Last week, Apple closed 32 stores in five states but as of Thursday, added 45 more closings in 11 states. The new temporary closures include 15 in California, another 10 in Texas, five of Georgia’s six locations, four of Nevada’s five stores, and two more in Florida.

“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 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.”

The iPhone maker began reopening stores in May after a nationwide shutdown in mid-March. Reopened locations are operating on a modified basis based on local public health guidance, with a mixture of storefront, curbside and appointment-only service.

Apple has instituted a host of safety measures to protect customers and employees at reopened stores. Preventative steps include temperature checks prior to entry, mandatory face coverings and social distancing.

“Our commitment is to only move forward with a reopening once we’re confident we can safely return to serving customers from our stores,” according to a statement issued by Apple in March. “We look at every available piece of data — including local cases, near and long-term trends, and guidance from national and local health officials. These are not decisions we rush into — and a store opening in no way means that we won’t take the preventative step of closing it again should local conditions warrant.”