Apple Temporarily Closes Two Additional Stores in China Due to Coronavirus

As the coronavirus outbreak in China continues to spread, Apple today shuttered two more of its retail locations in the country. Stores located in Nanjing and Fuzhou, China, have been temporarily closed, according to Bloomberg.

During yesterday's earnings call, Apple CEO Tim Cook confirmed that one store location in Qingdao, China had already been shut down, bringing the total stores closed to three. Many other stores have limited hours.

Apple plans to reopen the Nanjing and Fuzhou stores on February 3, while the Apple Store in Qingdao will reopen on February 4.

Apple has limited employee travel to China to "business critical" operations, and it is providing care kits to Apple employees located in Wuhan and across China.

There are more than 6,000 cases of coronavirus, primarily in China, though the virus has been spreading to other countries. Some of Apple's supplier factories in China are going to be closed until February 10 due to Chinese New Year and the outbreak, which Apple CEO ‌Tim Cook‌ said Apple is working to manage to avoid an impact on production.

The virus situation is still emerging, and Apple is continuing to gather data points, says Cook. The company is experiencing a sales slowdown due to the closing of retail stores and shoppers who are afraid to go out. As a result, Apple set its next quarter guidance range at $63 to $67 billion, which is a larger range than normal. Cook said that this $4 billion range is reflective of the coronavirus outbreak and the "uncertainty" around it.