Apple Inc. temporarily shuttered at least eight retail stores in the US and Canada over the past day as Covid-19 cases surged among the public and employees, Bloomberg reports.

Since Tuesday, Apple has closed the following locations:

Dadeland in Miami
The Gardens Mall in Palm Beach
Lenox Square in Atlanta
Cumberland Mall in Atlanta
Highland Village in Houston
Summit Mall in Ohio
Pheasant Lane in New Hampshire
Sainte-Catherine in Montreal

Apple, based in Cupertino, California, typically shuts down a retail store when around 10% of staff members test positive for Covid-19.

Such closures have become increasingly routine in recent weeks. Before the latest round, Apple shut and reopened eight additional locations, including stores in Texas, Maryland, Hawaii, Ohio, and Ottawa.

As Covid-19 case numbers and the omicron variant surge across the world, Apple has started to limit occupancy inside its retail stores to promote social distancing, mask mandate across all US stores and once again put in plexiglass dividers to protect employees.

At the same time, Apple added an incentive to order online.

On Wednesday, the company rolled out free two-hour delivery for its products in “most metro areas.” The deal runs through December 24. That shipping option normally costs $9.

Source: Bloomberg

BDST: 2028 HRS, DEC 23, 2021
SMS