Since Tuesday, Apple has closed eight locations in the US due to the Covid-19 spike

As the Covid-19 cases are increasing, Apple Inc. has temporarily closed at least eight retail shops in the United States and Canada during the last day due to an increase in Covid-19 instances among the general public and staff.

When roughly 10% of Apple's employees test positive for Covid-19, the Cupertino, California-based company shuts down the shop.

In recent weeks, such closures have grown more common. Apple closed and reopened eight more sites before the recent wave, including stores in Texas, Maryland, Hawaii, Ohio, and Ottawa. Each closure lasted a few days on average. Lincoln Road in Miami Beach, which was the seventh store to close, is still closed. Apple also briefly shuttered a store in Charleston, South Carolina, in August.

“We regularly monitor conditions, and we will adjust our health measures to support the well-being of customers and employees,” Apple said in a statement. “We remain committed to a comprehensive approach for our teams that combines regular testing with daily health checks, employee and customer masking, deep cleaning, and paid sick leave.”

Apple has shuttered the following outlets since Tuesday:

• The Gardens Mall in Palm Beach
• Lenox Square in Atlanta
• Dadeland in Miami
• Cumberland Mall in Atlanta
• Summit Mall in Ohio
• Highland Village in Houston
• Pheasant Lane in New Hampshire
• Sainte-Catherine in Montreal

Apple has stated previously that it tests all of its employees on a regular basis and that it only reopens stores once each employee has been retested.

Apple introduced an incentive to purchase online at the same time. The firm began offering free two-hour delivery for its items in "most major locations" on Wednesday. The offer is valid through December 24th. Normally, that delivery option costs $9.

Apple has begun to limit occupancy within its retail outlets to create social separation as Covid-19 case numbers and the omicron variant rise throughout the world. It has also reinstated the mask requirement in all U.S. locations, as well as reinstalled plexiglass partitions to safeguard personnel.