Apple will reopen more than 25 of its retail stores in the U.S., indicating that businesses are slowly marking their return to normalcy amidst the coronavirus crisis. As many as fifth of the firm's retail outlets worldwide have been reopened until now.
The Cupertino firm closed all 458 stores outside mainland China in mid-March in a bid to curb the spread of the coronavirus, and only started resuming operations at several locations recently. Last week, the firm announced that it would reopen stores in four U.S. states, which included Idaho, South Carolina, Alabama, and Alaska. Apple's head of retail Deirdre O’Brien wrote on the company's website:
Our commitment is to only move forward with a reopening once we’re confident we can safely return to serving customers from our stores. We look at every available piece of data — including local cases, near and long‑term trends, and guidance from national and local health officials.
There will be strict social distancing rules in place, requiring both employees and customers to wear face masks in addition to temperature checks at the door. The firm will also be limiting physical presence inside the stores in a bid to keep them spacious.
The states in which Apple stores will be reopened are Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, Oklahoma, and Washington.
Source: Reuters
