Apple shuts reopened US shops as Covid-19 cases continue to rise – The National

Apple shuts reopened US shops as Covid-19 cases continue to rise – The National

Company reopened more than 100 outlets outside Greater China in May, but 90 US shops remain closed as virus spreads

















A worker sprays disinfectant outside the new Apple flagship store in Beijing. Reuters 







Apple has asked its US retail staff to return to remote working as the company shuts some of its recently reopened shops due to a surge in Covid-19 cases.



Deirdre O'Brien, the company's senior vice president of retail and people, told affected employees that they would serve customers online or over the phone instead.



"If your store is closed, please sign up for Retail at Home. Please talk to your manager because we really need to make sure that we shift our teams to greet our customers remotely in this time," she said in a video message.



"We may need to be working remotely for some period of time."



Due to an increase in the number of customers buying products online and looking for services remotely because of lockdowns and travel restrictions, there have been "significant wait times“, the company said.



This is not the experience that Apple wants to offer its customers, Ms O'Brien said.



"We