Coronavirus Update: Apple To Reopen Its Retail Stores In The First Half Of April After COVID-19 Pandemic

KEY POINTS

Apple plans to open all its retail stores outside of Greater China
The reopening of Apple retail stores will be implemented in a staggered manner
Apple retail stores will reopen in the first half of April

Apple is planning to open its retail stores outside of Greater China gradually. In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, Apple closed most of its retail stores on March 13 citing COVID-19 spread.

According to a memo received by 9to5 Mac, Apple will be reopening its retail stores “on a staggered basis.” Deirdre O’Brien, SVP of Retail and People at Apple, detailed the plan to the retail team.

He mentioned that all Apple retail stores and offices have resumed operations in Greater China with necessary guidelines in place.

O’Brien wrote in the memo that some Apple retail stores outside of Greater China will open in the first half of April based on the conditions in the community. He stated that the reopening process will be done in a staggered manner. Apple will release updates for each store as soon as definitive dates are established.

On March 13, Apple announced that it is shutting down all of its retail stores. “We will be closing all of our retail stores outside of Greater China until March 27. We are committed to providing exceptional service to our customers. Our online stores are open at www.apple.com, or you can download the Apple Store app on the App Store. For service and support, customers can visit support.apple.com.”

Despite the coronavirus pandemic, Apple launched two new products in the market – a new MacBook Air and a new iPad Pro. People in the U.S. started receiving their new Apple products this week, which were shipped from Chengdu, China last week.

Foxconn, a major Apple iPhone assembler, said that it has enough workers in all of its major Chinese plants to meet demand, Nikkei Asian Review reported. Foxconn in a statement mentioned that the company has enforced strict measures to prevent any coronavirus infection. The company stated that more than 40,000 people had chest X-rays and 55,000 employees got a PCR coronavirus test.

Meanwhile, the death toll due to coronavirus has reached 18,901. More than 420,000 people have been tested positive with COVID-19.