Apple Closes Stores in New York City Amid Omicron Spread

In case you wanted one other indication that covid-19, fueled by the most recent omicron variant, is spreading like wildfire in some elements of the U.S., all that you must do is to test to see if Apple Stores are open. In New York City on Monday, they weren’t.

Apple partially closed all seven of its shops in New York City on Monday, Reuters reported, as a consequence of a rise in covid-19 instances. In a news conference on Monday, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul mentioned the state had reported 26,000 each day optimistic instances on Sunday, however thought of the quantity was vastly underestimated as a consequence of decreased testing over the vacation weekend.

Hochul added that she anticipated the quantity to extend by as much as 20,000 instances or extra by the point Tuesday’s numbers got here in.

Apple confirmed to Gizmodo on Monday that the shops have been open for pickup solely, which means that clients may nonetheless order a product on-line and choose it up on the retailer.

“We regularly monitor conditions and we will adjust both our health measures and store services to support the wellbeing of customers and employees,” the corporate mentioned in an emailed assertion. “We remain committed to a comprehensive approach for our teams that combines regular testing with daily health checks, employee and customer masking, deep cleaning and paid sick leave.”

G/O Media could get a fee

Up to 85% Off

JoyJolt Glassware Sets

Take your first shot of the brand new yr
Whether you want a two-pack of whiskey glasses or a sextet of shot glasses, Macy’s has diminished costs on its glasswares by as a lot as $55.

The Apple Stores in New York City have been purportedly not the one ones closed on Monday. According to the New York Times, about 20 of the corporate’s shops have been closed throughout the nation. Some closed as a result of workers had change into sick with covid-19, the outlet acknowledged, and there weren’t sufficient wholesome workers left to maintain the shops open. Meanwhile, others have been apparently closed as a precautionary measure to maintain workers and clients secure.

Gizmodo reached out to Apple to substantiate the Times’ report however didn’t obtain a response by the point of publication. We’ll be certain to replace this text if we hear again.

Monitoring Apple Store closures has change into an unconventional indicator of the severity of the pandemic, as the corporate has been fast to answer rising instances and often closes its areas if it determines it’s not secure.

The U.S. is at the moment reporting 198,404 covid-19 instances per day, CNN reported, the best variety of instances since Jan. 19.