Apple closing all Arizona stores as coronavirus situation worsens

PHOENIX – Apple announced Friday it was temporarily closing all six of its Arizona stores because of health concerns as the state’s coronavirus situation worsens.

The tech giant is also closing two stores each in Florida and North Carolina and one in South Carolina.

The Arizona stores include five in metro Phoenix – SanTan Village in Gilbert, Chandler Fashion Center, Scottsdale Fashion Square, Scottsdale Quarter and Arrowhead in Glendale — and one in Tucson.

“We take this step with an abundance of caution as we closely monitor the situation and we look forward to having our teams and customers back as soon as possible,” Apple said in a prepared statement.

The Scottsdale Fashion Square store, which was damaged during unrest last month, is already closed, and Friday is the last day the others will be open until further notice.

Arizona has set high marks for new daily coronavirus cases three times in the last four days, topped by Friday’s mark of 3,246.

The state’s case total reached 46,689 on Friday, and the death toll increased by 41 to 1,312.

The Cupertino, California, company began reopening stores scattered across the country last month after shutting down all of its U.S. brick-and-mortar locations in March.

Apple continued to sell iPhones and other products in its online store.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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