Apple continues to close stores in the United States and Canada due to new covid infections

The pandemic is still very present in society despite the high vaccination rates in some countries, this added to the new variants of Covid-19 that have generated an increase in cases and therefore, many businesses decide to close again.

One of them is the tech giant Apple, which has been closing some of its stores in the United States and Canada. TO By the way, this Monday it has decided not to allow entry to the main stores in New York.

The company has closed 16 stores in ‘The city that never sleeps’ Among those that stand out are those of SoHo, Grand Central, World Trade Center and Fifth Avenue, all due to the omicron variant of covid, which has proven to be highly contagious. Other affected locations include Upper West Side, West 14th Street, Staten Island, and the Bronx.

Despite this decision, the company will still allow customers to order online and pick up in stores although shoppers will not be able to enter the store, and Genius Bar support will not be available.

“We monitor conditions regularly and will adjust our health measures to support the well-being of customers and employees, we remain committed to a comprehensive approach to our equipment that combines regular testing with daily health checks, masking of employees and customers, deep cleaning and paid sick leave, ”Apple explained in a statement.

New York is not the only city affectedAs Steve Jobs’ company has closed other locations in Los Angeles (including his Tower Theater store), Washington DC (Carnegie Library) and other stores in Ohio, Texas, Georgia and Florida.

On the other hand, the Regent Street store in London has also closed due to the same situation.

This hasn’t happened just this last week. In accordance with Bloomberg, for several weeks the Apple stores in the United States They have been gradually closing their doors, as the number of infections among their employees increased. Also, some stores in Canada have closed operations.

The stores affected so far have been Dadeland and The Gardens Mall in Florida, Lenox Square in Atlanta, GA, Highland Village in Houston, TX, Summit Mall in Ohio, Pheasant Lane in New Hampshire and Sainte-Catherine in Montreal, Canada.

According to the outlet, closures generally occur when 10% of store members have tested positive for Covid-19.

The 9to5Mac site, which specializes in the bitten apple brand, pointed out that people should take into account that Apple has begun promoting free two-hour deliveries in most metropolitan areas. That is, you can make the purchase online and pick up the item a couple of hours later personally and at no additional cost.

The promotion says it will run until noon on Christmas Eve and while it’s convenient for anyone on a last-minute gift mission, it could also help reduce in-store crowds while shopping. That is in addition to other options like express store pickup and overnight delivery for many items.

It should be remembered that recently several companies such as Meta, Amazon, Twitter and Pinterest have indicated that they will not be present at the Consumer Electronic Show (CES) 2022, which will be in person at a venue in Las Vegas, United States.

According to information from Reuters, the company of Jeff Bezos will not be participating in the event this coming January because the “rapidly changing situation and the uncertainty around the omicron variant ”