More than 25 Apple Stores across the United States are reopening this week

Apple Store Social Distancing
Apple Store Social Distancing (Image credit: Apple)

What you need to know

  • 25 US-based Apple Stores and 12 Canadian stores reopening this week.
  • The US stores cover seven different states.
  • Apple also shared an open letter to its customers.

Apple stores outside of Greater China have been closed for weeks with some countries seeing stores reopen in recent days. That's set to continue with Apple Stores across the United States and Canada reopening this week.

A Bloomberg report notes that more than 25 stores in the United States and 12 in Canada are reopening soon.

Apple Inc. said it's reopening more than 25 stores across the U.S. and 12 stores in Canada this week, adding to nearly 100 global locations that have reopened to customers after the novel coronavirus outbreak forced them to close. Some stores will offer only curbside or storefront service, the company added in an emailed statement.

Apple SVP of Retail and People Deidre O'Brien also shared an open letter in which she details exactly how the stores would function once they were open.

Face coverings will be required for all of our teams and customers, and we will provide them to customers who don't bring their own. Temperature checks will be conducted at the door, and posted health questions will screen for those with symptoms — like cough or fever — or who have had recent exposure to someone infected with COVID‑19. Throughout the day, we're conducting enhanced deep cleanings that place special emphasis on all surfaces, display products, and highly trafficked areas.

Stores will focus on service via the Genius Bar with a "one‑on‑one" service implemented throughout the store. Apple doesn't want its stores to have people walking around and browsing – mimicking procedures put into place in other countries where stores have reopened.

Most Apple Stores around the globe remain closed with no indication when that is likely to change for many countries.

Oliver Haslam
Contributor

Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too. Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.