Apple Inc. is closing an additional 14 U.S. retail stores Friday because of recent increases in Covid-19 cases. Of the 18 Apple Store locations in Florida, only two currently remain open, one in Jacksonville and another in Sarasota, Bloomberg reported.
The tally of closed US Apple stores is currently at 32, which represents 10 percent of the company’s total number of 272 stores in the country.
“Due to current Covid-19 conditions in some of the communities we serve, we are temporarily closing stores in these areas,” an Apple spokesman told Bloomberg. “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.”
Apple last month began reopening a majority of its US retail locations. Yet last week saw Apple’s first wave of store reclosures in Florida, as well as Arizona, North Carolina, and South Carolina. Despite Apple’s staggered approach to reopening its stores that started in late May, the number of COVID-19 cases across the US — particularly in states that have more quickly reopened — has started to spike.
Apple didn’t say when the closed locations would open again, but noted that customers would have time to pick up devices under repair at the stores, according to Bloomberg.
