Apple closes California stores amid rising COVID-19 cases

Apple is temporarily closing its stores in California amid rising coronavirus cases, according to a spokesperson. 

The tech giant is shutting all 53 retail stores in its home state as California reaches record numbers of COVID-19 cases, an Apple spokesperson confirmed to The Hill. 

“Due to current Covid-19 conditions in some of the communities we serve, we are temporarily closing stores in these areas,” the spokesperson said in a statement. “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.”

Apple also closed all stores in Tennessee, two stores in Mexico and Brazil, and stores in London, according to the spokesperson.

California surpassed its single-day record of cases on Friday, reporting 53,326 new cases. The state has reported a total of more than 1.8 million coronavirus cases and more than 22,000 deaths statewide. 

Four of California’s five regional areas are under a stay-at-home order. The order limits all retail stores to limit indoor capacity to 20 percent. 

Apple had previously shut stores across the U.S. in March. The company started reopening stores in May, but took action in June to close stores in a handful of states experiencing coronavirus spikes.

–Updated at 2:21 p.m.