Apple Closes Stores Amid COVID Surge: Is Your Location Affected?

As COVID infections increase across the U.S., Apple (AAPL) has made the decision to temporarily close three of its retail stores.

Apple closed a Miami location through Thursday, a store in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, and Annapolis, Maryland, through Friday, CNBC reported.

In a statement to the news outlet, an Apple spokesperson said, “We regularly monitor conditions and we will adjust our health measures to support the wellbeing of customers and employees. 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.”

Apple employees at the three stores will undergo COVID-19 testing prior to the reopening of the stores, which the tech retailer said could extend the closures of the locations, depending on results, CNBC said.

The news of the store closures comes as the Omicron variant spreads throughout the U.S., with cases being reported in at least 37 states.

The Omicron appears to be highly transmissible, with a new study from the University of Hong Kong indicating that the new COVID strain multiplies 70 faster than the Delta variant.

Apple has taken a proactive approach to the virus, announcing earlier this week that it would again require face masks for customers at all of its U.S. stores. The company has also implemented regional coronavirus policies at its stores to help prevent the spread of the virus.

Apple closed all of its stores in March 2020 at the height of the COVID pandemic, reopening them in early 2021.

As of Thursday at 11:49 a.m. EST, shares of Apple were trading at $175.17, down $4.14, or 2.30%.