Apple is temporarily closing 11 retail locations in Arizona, Florida, North Carolina, and South Carolina following reports of a spike in local COVID-19 cases, according to Bloomberg.
Arizona will take the biggest hit, with shops shutting in the Arrowhead Towne Center, Chandler Fashion Center, La Encantada, SanTan Village, Scottsdale Fashion Square, and Scottsdale Quarter. Other venues include Waterside Shops and Coconut Point in Florida; SouthPark and Northlake Mall in North Carolina; and Haywood Mall in South Carolina.
"Due to current COVID-19 conditions in some of the communities we serve, we are temporarily closing stores in these areas," an Apple spokesperson told Bloomberg. "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."
As of June 20, Johns Hopkins University recorded nearly 115,000 deaths in the US—where all 50 states are now at least partially reopened. Recent spikes in Oklahoma, California, Texas, and other states, however, have prompted local governments to rethink their actions. Retail giants like Apple must also reconsider their business plans.
The firm—which implemented daily deep cleans, one-to-one service, temperature checks, and face mask requirements at reopened stores—promised to continue paying staff at closed shops. Cupertino offered no timeline for reopening those 11 locations. COVID-19 isn't Apple's only concern: Early this month, it joined Amazon in taking certain precautions amidst nationwide demonstrations motivated by the Black Lives Matter movement—including shuttering some U.S. stores to avoid looting.
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