Apple to close its worldwide retail stores for two weeks except in China

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) continues to lead the list of tech giants that have been hit
hard by the Coronavirus emergency that is rapidly spreading across continents. In recent news, Apple announced on Friday that its worldwide retail stores will remain close for two weeks in an attempt to contain the spread of the virus and protect its employees against the health hazard.

The announcement also highlighted that the U.S smartphone manufacturer plans on keeping only the retail stores in mainland China opened in the next two weeks. According to CEO Tim Cook, Apple is committed to playing its role in minimizing the risk of excessive transmission of the fatal virus. In the best interest of its employees and customers’ health, Apple declared its retail stores across the globe except in Greater China to remain closed until March 27^th.

Apple Promotes Remote Working Amidst The Coronavirus Emergency

Further decision regarding business operations, according to Apple, will be taken on the basis of how the pandemic unravels in the next two weeks. In his announcement on Friday, Tim Cook said:

“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.”

Owing to the decline in new Coronavirus cases in China, Apple had recently announced that it will return to business at all of its 42 outlets in China on Friday.

In a letter on Friday, the CEO also highlighted that Apple has so far donated $15 million for the support of global coronavirus response. The company wishes to minimize the community and economic impact of the virus and ensure better healthcare services for the victims.

Latest Stats For Coronavirus Pandemic

Coronavirus pandemic has so far infected around 1,40,000 people worldwide and caused more than 5,000 deaths. President of the World Health Organization (WHO) has recently branded Europe as the Coronavirus epicenter with the rate of transmission recorded much higher than in China at its peak. Financial markets have estimated a very high risk of global recession if the pandemic gets any worse.

Apple closed the last week at around $273.0 per share in the stock market that translates to just under 10% decline in 2020 so far. Apple is currently valued at $1.22 trillion that recently dropped as down as $1.09 trillion and threatened Apple’s privileged position in the trillion-dollar club.