Apple is closing all of its stores outside China until March 27 in a bid to slow the spread of the new coronavirus outbreak, CEO Tim Cook said. Cook said the firm had learned from steps taken in China, where the tech giant has just reopened its retail stores.
"One of those lessons is that the most effective way to minimise risk of the virus's transmission is to reduce density and maximize social distance," he said in a statement Friday. "As rates of new infections continue to grow in other places, we're taking additional steps to protect our team members and customers."
Apple's online store would remain open, but office staff outside China would be working remotely if possible, Cook added. The California-based firm has about 500 stores in 24 countries around the world.
Cook's announcement came soon after Apple reopened all stores in China, the coronavirus epicentre. Apple's stores have gradually been reopening over the past few days. Some of the Chinese stores were shut for as long as six weeks. Apple, which depends on components from Chinese suppliers and has a big market in China, was hammered on both fronts.
The company's website shows its stores now have "special operating hours".
Despite the worldwide closures, Cook said hourly workers would continue to be paid as normal. The CEO said Apple had expanded its leave policy "to accommodate personal or family health circumstances created by COVID-19" including caring for a sick loved one, mandatory quarantine or childcare due to school closures.
Last month, Apple said it would miss its second quarter revenue forecast and global iPhone supplies would fall because of the epidemic. The firm had forecast revenue of $63-67 billion for January-March, but did not disclose how much it expected revenue to fall.