Coronavirus Causes Apple Store Event Cancellations, Precautions

Apple has announced that it is canceling its Today at Apple events due to coronavirus fears, according to reports.

“As a precautionary measure, we are temporarily pausing Today at Apple programming. Please check back for updates,” the company said on the Today at Apple site.

The move affects all stores in Brazil, Canada, Mexico and the United States. As the coronavirus situation continues to expand and evolve, Apple has been ushering in new health and safety standards at its stores, as well as canceling events.

Earlier this week, sessions in San Francisco and Seattle, two cities where there were more coronavirus cases than other places, were canceled. There was also a She Creates series for International Women’s Day that has been canceled. New York City and its surrounding areas saw events canceled on March 12.

Apple stores in Italy and Japan have been closed, but China and Hong Kong stores have been reopened.

Thirty-eight of Apple’s 42 shops were reopened as of last week, and the remaining four opened Friday (March 13). At the time of the closings, Apple said it was operating in an “abundance of caution and based on the latest advice from leading health experts.”

Apple has asked its workers to scale back the number of customers allowed in the store at one time and curtail people trying on Apple Watches and AirPods. Genius Bar appointments have also been staggered, and retail workers with symptoms can get unlimited sick leave.

The employees can leave work for as long as they need to, without a doctor’s note or worrying about having enough available sick days.

Over the weekend, Apple CEO Tim Cook delivered a memo to employees about the outbreak. He told the company’s office workers in Seattle, California, Japan, South Korea, Germany, France, Italy, the United Kingdom and Switzerland that they would be able to telecommute as long as their “job allows” it.