Apple stores, corporate offices, and contact centres in mainland China will remain closed until February 9, 2020 due to the Coronavirus epidemic. The phone manufacturer has roughly 10,000 direct employees in China.
The move is informed by latest advice from leading health experts amid threats of the coronavirus in China that has so far claimed 360 lives.
Moreover, Apple has put restrictions on employee travel to China limiting it to business-critical situations. Other measures include increasing the cleaning of its stores and checking the temperature of its retail workers.
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Although the brick and mortar stores remain closed, Apple maintains that the online store in China will remain open.
Bloomberg reports that automakers Honda and Nissan Motor Companies have had workers evacuated from operation sites in Wuhan.
Apple’s suppliers such as Foxxcon will resume full scale operations on February 10, 2020. Apple’s supply chain employs over a million workers working on iPad, iPhone, and Apple Watch products.
Chinese authorities and companies remain hopeful that work will resume in most parts of the country by February 10.
