Apple Inc has temporarily shut all of its 53 stores in California because of a coronavirus outbreak and 16 stores in the United Kingdom.
On Friday, the company was temporarily shutting some stores in California following a surge in COVID-19 cases, sending the iPhone maker’s shares down in trading after the bell. That announcement covered at least 12 stores.
“Due to current COVID-19 conditions in some of the communities we serve, we are temporarily closing stores in these areas. 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,” the spokesman said in an emailed statement.
Customers would still be able to pick up existing orders for the next few days, the spokesman said. The statement did not mention when Apple expects the stores to reopen.
On Saturday, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson imposed an effective lockdown on over 16 million people in England and reversed plans to ease curbs over Christmas. The U.K.’s other nations, whose response to the pandemic differs from that of England at times, also took action.
Coronavirus cases are increasing in the United States and the United Kingdom, with the U.S. having had over 17.4 million infections and about 314,000 deaths.
