Apple to re-close 30 more retail stores as coronavirus cases spike

• Apple will close 30 additional stores in the United States this week.
• Apple has re-closed 77 stores in recent weeks in the United States as Covid-19 cases rapidly rise in several regions around the country.
• The closings announced on Wednesday include the last two remaining stores open in Florida, as well as a number of stores around the Los Angeles area.

Apple will close 30 additional stores in the United States this week, the company said, bringing the total number of re-closures in the United States to 77 as Covid-19 cases rapidly rise in several regions around the country.

Stores in Alabama, California, Georgia, Idaho, Lousiana, Nevada, and Oklahoma will close tomorrow. Other stores in Florida, Mississippi, Texas, and Utah are closed as of today. Apple has 271 stores in the United States.

Apple shares dropped on the announcement to go negative during trading on Wednesday.

Apple stores tend to be in highly trafficked malls and shopping centers, and the fact that they are re-closing in such large numbers can be seen as a negative indicator of how smoothly retail operations can re-start in the United States amid the coronavirus.

An Apple spokesman said in a statement: “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 closings announced on Wednesday include the last two remaining stores open in Florida, as well as a number of stores around the Los Angeles area.

Apple was one of the first companies to shut it stores around the world in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. Stores started to re-open in the U.S. with safety measures including masking and temperature checks, but the rising rates of Covid-19 have forced the company to close many of its locations in hard-hit states.