After it was forced to shutter its retail locations in China because of the spread of COVID-19, Apple Inc. has reportedly put all of them back into operation. The closures were one of the main reasons the tech company cited for removing its March quarter sales outlook, Bloomberg reported.
Apple has been slowly reopening the locations, with 38 of the 42 shops open for business as of last week. According to the tech company’s website, as cited by the outlet, the remaining four locations will reopen on Friday (March 13). China is the third-largest market for the tech company.
The tech firm has also begun to make additional space in its retail locations and calling off some of its classes to stop the virus from spreading. It has also supported the idea of telecommuting for staff at multiple offices.
Apple also had to shutter all of its Italy locations amid coronavirus fears.
As previously reported, Apple initially closed its corporate offices as well as 42 retail locations in mainland China in the first week of February. At the time, the tech company said the decision was made with an “abundance of caution and based on the latest advice from leading health experts.” Apple’s eCommerce store was not impacted.
Apple was also restricting business travel to China to only include essential trips.
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In other news, Apple was providing its hourly staff, including retail workers, with unlimited sick time off in the event that they experience symptoms of the coronavirus. The retail employees are permitted to leave work for the necessary amount of time without needing to provide a doctor’s note to management or worrying about having enough available days.
