Apple is closing stores it just re-opened after coronavirus spike
Despite what you may think with so many parts of the U.S. reopening, the coronavirus pandemic is far from over.
Case in point: Apple is now closing some of the very stores it had recently reopened due to new spikes in COVID-19 cases.
According to Bloomberg, 11 Apple stores located in Arizona, Florida, North Carolina, and South Carolina are once again temporarily shuttering due to the virus. The company’s decision to close these stores comes amid record high increases of coronavirus cases and hospitalizations in Arizona and Florida.
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In March, as countries around the world began to lockdown due to the virus, Apple announced it was closing all of its retail locations outside of mainland China. The company started its reopening process in early May with nearly 100 stores opening once again. Just a few weeks later, Apple would shutter some of these locations again as a precaution as police brutality and systemic racism protests spread across the country.
Just two days ago, Apple announced once again that it was opening an additional 70 stores across the country, including in some major U.S. cities like New York.
The back-and-forth decision making process from Apple is a perfect example of this tumultuous time. The world’s largest tech company is basically altering its physical retail planning on a day-by-day basis.
“Due to current COVID-19 conditions in some of the communities we serve, we are temporarily closing stores in these areas,” an Apple spokesman 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 Apple store locations being closed once again amid rising coronavirus cases include Arizona's Chandler Fashion Center in Chandler; Scottsdale Fashion Square and Scottsdale Quarter in Scottsdake; Arrowhead in Glendale; SanTan Village in Gilbert, and La Encantada in Tuscon. In Florida, the stores at Waterside Shops in Naples and Coconut Point in Estero are being closed. In North Carolina, it's two stores in Charlotte, the ones at SouthPark and Northlake Mall. In South Carolina, it will be the Haywood Mall store in Greenville.
Of these four states, Arizona is the only one which will see all of its Apple store locations temporarily close down. With rising COVID-19 cases, the state has recently been called the “worst off” in the U.S. when it comes to the coronavirus.
