Apple temporarily shuts all California stores

Apple Inc. is temporarily closing all of its retail stores in California as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to surge across the state.

The Cupertino-based technology company said on its website Saturday that it’s closing all 53 locations across the state. On Friday, the company said it would shut its stores in the Los Angeles area. The escalation of closures now covers stores including its major locations in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Apple didn’t say when the stores would reopen, and a spokesperson didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

The closures come in the middle of the holiday shopping season. Apple had been looking to top $100 billion in quarterly revenue for the first time on sales of the iPhone 12, its latest iPads and new Apple Watches.

California has been the center of the pandemic in the U.S. in recent weeks. Total cases in the state passed the 1.8 million mark

Saturday, when it added 43,608 new infections and 272 deaths, for a total of 22,432 fatalities.

The move also include Apple’s retail stores at its offices in Silicon Valley.

It marks one of the largest string of closures for Apple’s stores since the beginning of the pandemic in March.

Apple had reopened the vast majority of its over 270 U.S stores in recent months, although most of the locations were by appointment only. For the stores still open, Apple has transitioned many into what it’s calling “Express” stores. That converts the front portion of locations into bank teller-like lines for people to buy products and pick up items sent for repair.