On Saturday, Apple said, all Apple Stores and corporate offices are closed in mainland China until February 9th, as fears over the coronavirus outbreak mounted.
“Out of an abundance of caution and based on the latest advice from leading health experts, we’re closing all our corporate offices, stores, and contact centers in mainland China through February 9,” Apple said in a statement. The company said looked forward to re-opening stores “as soon as possible”.
Earlier this week, Apple closed three stores in China due to concerns about the spread of the virus…
In a recent earnings call, Apple CEO Tim Cook said the company was working out mitigation plans to deal with possible production loss from its suppliers in Wuhan. The city where the virus outbreak originated is home to several Apple suppliers.
MacDailyNews Note: As the death toll passes 250, with nearly 12,000 infections confirmed, the U.S., Australia, and Japan have expanded travel restrictions.
The United States and Australia are temporarily denying entry to noncitizens who have recently traveled to China, hoping to limit the spread of the new coronavirus to their countries, while Japan will bar foreigners who have been in the Chinese province at the center of the outbreak.
The American restrictions, announced on Friday, exempt immediate family members of American citizens and permanent residents… American officials also said that any United States citizen returning home who has been in the Hubei province of China within the past 14 days — believed to be the virus’s incubation period — will be quarantined for up to 14 days. Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak, is in Hubei.
Those who have been to other parts of China within the past 14 days will be subject to “proactive entry screening” and up to 14 days of monitoring and self-quarantine.
Always believe China.
It’s always something but for the long-term it amounts to very little. There must be plenty of other companies using China’s factories for production, so I wonder how they’re doing financially.
Anyway, Apple stores are closed, but are employees getting paid for that time? I would think employees should be paid as it’s not their fault
Apple has always paid all full time employees during any forced shut down. It’s not an official agreement in the hiring agreement but has always happed during my 10+ years with them. Mall fire. Paid days off. City shut down for blizzard. Paid day off.