Apple Reopens Beijing Stores, Measures Against Virus Outbreak Still Observed

Apple has recently confirmed that it’ll reopen some stores in Beijing this February. However, the reopened stores would have shorter store hours and would still follow the health measures mandated against the Novel Coronavirus or Covid-19 outbreak. The rest of the Apple stores in China will receive the same treatment.

Apple will now reopen five stores in Beijing at limited capacity between 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., according to a report from Reuters. Normally, Apple stores in the area are open from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Even with the Beijing stores reopening, Apple stores in Shenzhen and Shanghai will still remain closed until further notice.

In light of the outbreak, customers planning to shop in Apple stores are encouraged to wear protective masks. Ever since the Covid-19 or 2019 Coronavirus spread, China and other countries have been encouraging its citizens to use face masks to control the the disease, among other guidelines.

The outbreak has yet to be fully contained and curbed as of the second week of February. The death toll in treating the disease is slowly rising, but there have also been cases where patients have made full recovery, not only China, but throughout the globe.

On Feb. 8, Apple started to close its stores and corporate offices in China due to the outbreak. Most of these offices and stores have not yet reopened. Additionally, the Coronavirus outbreak has also affected global shipping, reported CNN, which could also affect the stock of Apple products in China.

As for Apple’s plans in the region, the company has made no further comment about resuming full operations in China. Apple is known to be a major rival of Huawei and has yet to beat the other in the region. The virus outbreak currently impedes Apple’s growth in the country, while the U.S. government is hounding Huawei’s major business deals throughout the globe.