Apple announces closure of retail stores outside china ‘to prevent spread of covid-19’

Apple announced that it will host its annual Worldwide Developers Conference in June in “an entirely new online format” due to the coronavirus pandemic. Apple chief executive Tim Cook tweeted on Saturday that the company will temporarily close all of its retail stores outside China until 27 March in a bid to "prevent the spread of COVID-19", also known as the coronavirus.

In the statement, Apple also pointed out that it is “taking additional steps to protect our team members and customers” now that “rates of new infections continue to grow in other places”. Apple also announced that it "will host its annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) scheduled for June in “an entirely new online format”.

The WWDC is typically held to announce Apple’s new products and software features. Earlier, it was reported that the first day of this year’s conference will see the presentation of new versions of the operating systems iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, and tvOS.

According to data from Johns Hopkins University, there are already more than 145,000 confirmed coronavirus cases in 123 countries across the world. The death toll currently stands at 5,429, with the number of those who have recovered now exceeding 71,700.

The announcement from the smart phone maker escalates the global response to the outbreak, as most major retailers have kept stores open. “We will be closing all of our retail stores outside of Greater

China until March 27," Apple CEO Tim Cook wrote in a letter posted on the company's website. Apple reopened all 42 of its branded stores in China on Friday as the number of new cases fell in the country where the coronavirus outbreak originated.

More than 138,000 people have been infected worldwide and over 5,000 have died, according to a Reuters tally of government announcements. Retailers are bracing for a blow to sales as virus-wary shoppers in Europe and the United States stay home.

US retailers including Macy's Inc, Saks Fifth Avenue and Gap Inc.' s Banana Republic sent notices to shoppers on Thursday saying they were open for business in a move to stem losses due to a steep decline in traffic.

Apple's hourly workers will continue to receive pay in alignment with business as usual operation, Cook said, and online sales will continue as usual.

“In all of our offices, we are moving to flexible work arrangements worldwide outside of Greater China," he added. “That means team members should work remotely if their job allows."