Apple said it would shut all of its official stores and corporate offices in mainland China until Feb 9 in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak.
“Out of an abundance of caution and based on the latest advice from leading health experts, we’re closing all our corporate offices, stores, and contact centers in mainland China through February 9,” Apple said in a statement. The company said looked forward to re-opening stores as soon as possible.
Earlier this week, Apple closed three stores in China due to concerns about the spread of the virus.
Many companies have called for employees in China to work from home and cease non-essential business travel in the first week of February.
Normally, businesses in China would be preparing to return to normal operations following the end of the week-long Lunar New Year Holiday.
Apple remains heavily reliant on China both for smartphone sales as well as for its supply chain and manufacturing.
Apple CEO Tim Cook, in a recent earnings call, said that the company was working out mitigation plans to deal with possible production loss from its suppliers in Wuhan. The city where the virus outbreak originated is home to several Apple suppliers.
