Apple Closes South Carolina Store After COVID-19 Exposure, Other Stores Cutting Hours Due to Staff Shortages

Apple has temporarily shut down its retail store located in Charleston, South Carolina after more than 20 staff members were exposed to or tested positive for COVID-19, reports Bloomberg.

apple charleston store
According to the website for the store, it will be shuttered until Monday, August 23. According to Bloomberg, stores of this size typically have 70 to 80 employees, so around a quarter of the staff may have been exposed.

Apple appears to be suffering from staff shortages at the Charleston store and other retail locations, both because of COVID exposures and the difficult labor market. Stores remain operational at this time, but some have been forced to close earlier and open later because of a lack of staff.

Continuing issues with the delta variant of COVID-19 have impacted Apple's store plans. Apple stopped requiring customers and employees to wear masks back in June, but then reinstated mask mandates at many retail locations in the United States in late July. So far though, Apple has not reinstated widespread store shutdowns.

Apple had also planned to bring back in-person Today at Apple classes on August 30, but has since pushed back those plans because of the prevalence of the delta variant.

Note: Due to the political or social nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Political News forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Top Rated Comments

Sowelu Avatar
35 months ago
The anti-maskers and anti-vaxers are 100% to blame for these variants and this never ending pandemic (in the US at least). Yet, these are the same fools who are saying 'enough is enough' but did nothing (and continue to do nothing) to help fight it.

We were attacked, we had the weapon to combat it and win, but no, half the nation is part of a cult who felt the need to side with the enemy (Covid) just to own the libs. Even though their cult leaders are fully vaccinated. Idiots.

And now, unvaccinated people are dying from a 99% preventable virus/disease. And the cycle will continue as we try to chase variants with boosters. We learned nothing in the 100 years since the last pandemic, despite having the technology and money to end it.
Score: 39 Votes (Like | Disagree)
fenderbass146 Avatar
35 months ago

Thank you anti-vaxxers for the delta variant.
Delta came from India before the vaccine existed…but sure blame Americans that don’t have the vaccine.
Score: 23 Votes (Like | Disagree)
brucewayne Avatar
35 months ago

Thank you anti-vaxxers for the delta variant.
The Delta Variant started in India in Dec 2020, long before either country had even a percentage of their population vaccinated, and according to the CDC is spread just as easily by people with or without the covid vaccines. It is also less lethal which is why most people never know they were carrying it. The only thing that the vaccine is buying you is better chance against severe symptoms or death.

https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/29/politics/cdc-masks-covid-19-infections/index.html

But hey, at least you'll get lots of likes by spreading hate against people that are weighing their risks vs vaccines that 9 months and 100's of millions of doses later still do not have full FDA approval and still have their manufacturers protected from any liability.
Score: 22 Votes (Like | Disagree)
farewelwilliams Avatar
35 months ago
Thank you anti-vaxxers for the delta variant.
Score: 21 Votes (Like | Disagree)
fenderbass146 Avatar
35 months ago

The anti-maskers and anti-vaxers are 100% to blame for these variants and this never ending pandemic. Yet, these are the fools who are saying 'enough is enough'. We were attacked, we had the weapon to combat it and win, but no, we ****ed it up.
How is a variant the started in India and really only killing unvaccinated people blamed on Americans 100% or really at all.. Quit gas lighting.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
fenderbass146 Avatar
35 months ago

Ugh here we go again.
MANDATORY VACCINES NOW!
MANDATORY MASKS NOW!
You are free to do that. The government does not have authority to do that

Not for children…..(who can’t get vaxxed because the vaccines are still considered too dangerous for them)
Luckily under 18 only accounts for .05% of all COVID deaths and they are more likely to die from the flu then COVID in a typical year….
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iOS 18 Siri Integrated Feature

iOS 18 Will Add These New Features to Your iPhone

Friday April 12, 2024 11:11 am PDT by
iOS 18 is expected to be the "biggest" update in the iPhone's history. Below, we recap rumored features and changes for the iPhone. iOS 18 is rumored to include new generative AI features for Siri and many apps, and Apple plans to add RCS support to the Messages app for an improved texting experience between iPhones and Android devices. The update is also expected to introduce a more...
iGBA Feature

Game Boy Emulator for iPhone Now Available in App Store Following Rule Change [Removed]

Sunday April 14, 2024 8:06 am PDT by
A week after Apple updated its App Review Guidelines to permit retro game console emulators, a Game Boy emulator for the iPhone called iGBA has appeared in the App Store worldwide. The emulator is already one of the top free apps on the App Store charts. It was not entirely clear if Apple would allow emulators to work with all and any games, but iGBA is able to load any Game Boy ROMs that...
top stories 13apr2024

Top Stories: M4 Mac Roadmap Leaked, New iPads in Second Week of May, and More

Saturday April 13, 2024 6:00 am PDT by
Apple's hardware roadmap was in the news this week, with things hopefully firming up for a launch of updated iPad Pro and iPad Air models next month while we look ahead to the other iPad models and a full lineup of M4-based Macs arriving starting later this year. We also heard some fresh rumors about iOS 18, due to be unveiled at WWDC in a couple of months, while we took a look at how things ...
new best buy blue

Best Buy Opens Up Sitewide Sale With Record Low Prices on M3 MacBook Air, iPad, and Much More

Saturday April 13, 2024 7:41 am PDT by
Best Buy this weekend has a big sale on Apple MacBooks and iPads, including new all-time low prices on the M3 MacBook Air, alongside the best prices we've ever seen on MacBook Pro, iPad, and more. Some of these deals require a My Best Buy Plus or My Best Buy Total membership, which start at $49.99/year. In addition to exclusive access to select discounts, you'll get free 2-day shipping, an...
iGBA Feature

Apple Removes Game Boy Emulator iGBA From App Store Due to Spam and Copyright Violations

Sunday April 14, 2024 9:22 pm PDT by
Apple today said it removed Game Boy emulator iGBA from the App Store for violating the company's App Review Guidelines related to spam (section 4.3) and copyright (section 5.2), but it did not provide any specific details. iGBA was a copycat version of developer Riley Testut's open-source GBA4iOS app. The emulator rose to the top of the App Store charts following its release this weekend,...
iOS 18 Siri Integrated Feature

Apple's First AI Features in iOS 18 Reportedly Won't Use Cloud Servers

Sunday April 14, 2024 9:52 am PDT by
Apple's first set of new AI features planned for iOS 18 will not rely on cloud servers at all, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. "As the world awaits Apple's big AI unveiling on June 10, it looks like the initial wave of features will work entirely on device," said Gurman, in the Q&A section of his Power On newsletter today. "That means there's no cloud processing component to the...