Apple has temporarily closed all of its New York City stores to in-person shoppers as coronavirus cases skyrocket in the Big Apple.
Apple’s huge flagship on Fifth Avenue, along with its Grand Central, SoHo and World Trade Center stores and small outlets in all five boroughs, are all closed to buyers, according to the iPhone manufacturer’s website. .
Customers can still collect their orders online from stores.
Locations in Westchester County, Long Island, New Jersey, and upstate New York remain open for in-person purchases.
The closures come as the Omicron variant quickly spreads in New York City, forcing thousands of workers to call in sick.
Amid coronavirus-related worker shortages, Governor Kathy Hochul on Friday reduced isolation guidelines for some fully vaccinated workers who test positive for COVID-19 from 10 days to five days.
Apple typically closes a store when 10% of its employees have tested positive for the coronavirus, according to Bloomberg.
Apple last week closed stores in Florida, Georgia, Texas, New Hampshire and Canada as cases of the coronavirus increased.
Apple spokesman Nick Leahy did not respond to a request for details of the company’s store closings in New York City, but said the company was doing its best to protect employees.
“We regularly monitor conditions and will adjust both our health metrics and in-store services to support the well-being of customers and employees,” Leahy told The Post. “We remain committed to a holistic approach for our teams that combines regular testing with daily health checks, employee and customer masking, deep cleaning and paid sick leave. “
New York City reported a near-record 17,343 new cases of coronavirus on Monday. The city’s hospitalization rate has more than doubled in the past week, with hospitals seeing an increase in the number of patients infected with the omicron variant, Mayor Bill de Blasio said.
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