US News

Apple closes all California locations amid rising COVID-19 cases

Apple is temporarily closing all stores in California amid an ongoing surge of COVID-19 cases in the state.

All 53 stores will be shuttered until further notice due to California’s alarming rise in hospitalization, Apple said in a statement to CNBC.

“Due to current Covid-19 conditions in some of the communities we serve, we are temporarily closing stores in these areas,” an Apple spokesperson told the outlet.

“We take this step with an abundance of caution as we closely monitor the situation and we look forward to having our teams and customers back as soon as possible.”

Customers will still be able to pick up existing online orders and attend scheduled tech support appointments.

The drastic move comes after the tech giant closed its stores in Los Angeles, Bloomberg reported Friday.

The Apple shutdowns follow a grim milestone for Southern California, where health officials there said Thursday that the region has run out ICU beds for patients.

California has seen over 1,800,000 confirmed coronavirus cases, and more than 22,400 deaths as Saturday night, according to the state’s COVID-19 dashboard.