Apple last week closed some of its retail stores in the US and Canada due to the spread of the new COVID-19 variant. Now the company has reportedly closed seven more retail stores this week, and that number is likely to grow in the coming weeks.
Bloomberg reported on Wednesday that since Tuesday, the company has had to close seven Apple Stores due to positive cases of COVID-19 among employees. Most of the closed stores are located in the United States, while one of them is in Canada. The closed US stores are:
- Dadeland in Miami
- The Gardens Mall in Palm Beach
- Lenox Square in Atlanta
- Highland Village in Houston
- Summit Mall in Ohio
- Pheasant Lane in New Hampshire
According to company policies, a retail store should be closed when about 10% of the staff members test positive for COVID-19. More stores were closed last week in Miami, Maryland, and Ottawa. Earlier this month, the company had already closed another Apple Store in Texas due to an outbreak of COVID-19 among employees.
Apple said in a statement to Bloomberg that the company is constantly monitoring the COVID-19 situation to ensure that its customers and employees are safe.
A few days ago, Apple also reinstated the mandate for mask wearing at all US retail stores. The rule had been dropped with the brief relief of the pandemic as vaccination advanced around the world.
“We regularly monitor conditions, and we will adjust our health measures to support the well-being of customers and employees,” Apple said in a statement. “We remain committed to a comprehensive approach for our teams that combines regular testing with daily health checks, employee and customer masking, deep cleaning and paid sick leave.”
The new omicron variant now accounts for 3% of COVID-19 cases in the US, which is certainly raising new concerns for Apple and other companies. Now it seems only a matter of time before Apple closes more retail stores around the world.
