Apple will temporarily close one of its retail stores in Italy as the government grapples with the spread of COVID-19 in the country, which has experienced the worst outbreak of coronavirus in Europe so far.
Apple Oriocenter in the province of Bergamo will be closed on March 7 and 8, according to Apple's regional website, on orders from the Italian government.
The notice is the result of a decree of the President of the Council of Ministers issued last week that will see all medium and large retail stores, including commercial outlets inside shopping centers, shuttered over the coming weekend to halt the spread of the virus.
The decree covers the provinces of Bergamo, Cremona, Lodi, and Piacenza. Similar measures will also be undertaken in other Italian provinces.
Similar weekend closures occurred at Apple il Leone, Apple Fiordaliso and Apple Carosello on February 29 and March 1. Those closures were also government imposed.
The number of deaths has surged in Italy, which is now the country with the most deaths in the world outside of China, where the viral outbreak originated. In the last 24 hours, 27 people have died of the disease in Italy, bringing the total number to 79, according to the Civil Protection Agency.
Apple in early February closed all of its corporate offices, stores, and contact centers in China, but many stores have since reopened as the outbreak there appears to be slowing. There were 119 new confirmed cases in China on March 3, compared with 125 the day before.
An additional 38 people died on March 3, bringing the death toll in mainland China to 2,981. China has now had 80,270 cases since the virus first appeared in Wuhan province in December.
(Via AppleInsider.)
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