After reopening some of its stores last June 2021, it appears that some Apple Store will be closing again due to the spread of the new COVID-19 variant.
Is the Apple Store Near Me Closed?
Since the COVID-19 pandemic began last 2020, several businesses have been affected operationally and financially. One example of the affected businesses is the store-based ones, including Apple Stores.
To give background information, Apple has shut down some of its retail shops throughout the world due to the spread of COVID-19 last year. Fortunately, in June 2021, Apple stores opened simultaneously for the first time in 75 weeks.
However, owing to the new COVID-19 variant, the business has opted to close some of its stores in the United States and Canada once again.
Bloomberg stated that the tech giant has decided to close three of its retail stores due to a surge in COVID-19 exposures and cases among their staff.
Moreover, Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman named the said three closed Apple Stores on his Twitter account.
Now on @TheTerminal: Apple shuts three stores on uptick in Covid-19 cases and exposures among employees — Brickell in Miami, Annapolis in Maryland, and Rideau Street in Ottawa.
— Mark Gurman (@markgurman) December 15, 2021
Meanwhile, Apple's website now states that the Miami outlet will be closed until Friday, while the Annapolis and Ottawa locations will be closed until Saturday.
The announcement comes only one day after the business imposed a mask requirement in all of its U.S. retail locations, per 9to5Mac.
Additionally, the Cupertino-based technology company assured its customers that prior to the reopening of the stores, all employees will be given COVID-19 testing. Furthermore, the tech giant is also staying in touch with their affected employees, per Bloomberg.
Since early this year, Apple's retail staff have had access to weekly at-home COVID-19 tests provided by the corporation. In addition to this, the company has also modified specific store rules in response to these situations, as reported by CNBC.
The said additional store rules include focusing on customer pickups via online purchases rather than in-store purchasing, as well as increasing the amount of area dedicated to social distance.
The business had already closed an Apple Store in Texas earlier this month owing to a COVID-19 epidemic among staff. In the United States, the new Omicron variation now accounts for three percent of COVID-19 instances, generating additional worries for Apple and other firms, per 9to5Mac.
Despite the fact that the omicron variant is starting to spread, the delta variant "continues to be the primary variant circulating in the United States," according to the CDC.
How to Check if the Apple Store Near Me is Closed?
For those who are curious to know if the Apple Store near them is closed, they should head to this link to check the availability of the store.
According to several reports, Apple's efforts to get its corporate employees back to work have also been delayed.
In addition according to NBC News' Zoe Schiffer, the company's newest plan was for staff to return on February 1st under a hybrid work pattern, but that date has been pushed out to a "yet to be determined" date.
Schiffer furthered that an email from Appl CEO Tim Cook stated that the staff would receive $1,000 to spend on their home offices. This incentive will also be given to retail staff.
