Apple Closes Stores Outside China Amid Coronavirus, Donates $15M
While nearly all of the Apple stores have reopened in China, CEO Tim Cook has announced that most of its stores outside of the country will temporarily close amid the coronavirus pandemic, for at least two weeks.
As of Saturday (Mar 14), Cook stated, “As rates of new infections continue to grow in other places, we’re taking additional steps to protect our team members and customers.”
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Additionally, he states that there will be “deep cleaning” at all sites, and for its employees, there will be health screenings and temperature checks at all offices. The company also plans to commit $15 million to help with the worldwide recovery, “both to help treat those who are sick and to help lessen the economic and community impacts of the pandemic,” says Cook.
Furthermore, there are more than 142,000 cases worldwide, per the World Health Organization (WHO), with at least 5,388 deaths.
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The company’s official statement reads:
“In all of our offices, we are moving to flexible work arrangements worldwide outside of Greater China. That means team members should work remotely if their job allows, and those whose work requires them to be on site should follow guidance to maximise interpersonal space. Extensive deep cleaning will continue at all sites. In all our offices, we are rolling out new health screenings and temperature checks. All of our hourly workers will continue to receive pay in alignment with business-as-usual operations.. We have expanded our leave policies to accommodate personal or family health circumstances created by Covid-19 – including recovering from an illness, caring for a sick loved one, mandatory quarantining, or childcare challenges due to school closures.”
In our workplaces and communities, we must do all we can to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Apple will be temporarily closing all stores outside of Greater China until March 27 and committing $15M to help with worldwide recovery. https://t.co/ArdMA43cFJ
— Tim Cook (@tim_cook) March 14, 2020