Apple Store in Texas was closed on Dec. 8 after an outbreak of COVID-19 positive cases have been reported among its employees in the said location after its massive Black Friday sale last Nov. 26.
The logo of US tech giant Apple can be seen on an Apple store in Munich, southern Germany. - Apple said it planned to invest more than one billion euros ($1.2 billion) in Germany and open Europe's biggest research facility on mobile wireless semiconductors and software. The company said it would make Munich its "European Silicon Design Centre", creating hundreds of new jobs at a facility for 5G and wireless technologies.
Apple Store Texas Close Down and COVID-19 Outbreak
As per the report by NBC, the iPhone maker decided to close down the Apple Store in Southlake Town Square in Texas after its employees shared that they were positive from the novel coronavirus.
The news outlet further added that the store manager went on to announce the COVID-19 outbreak among the other employees of the store via a staff Webex meeting last Wednesday, Dec. 8.
It is worth noting that the Apple Store in Southlake Town Square has a total of 151 employees, according to the news story by 9to5Mac.
At least 22 of them reported that they contracted COVID-19. The tally of cases among their peers has gone up since the massive Black Friday sale last November.
The manager of the store said that employees who have received a positive test result from COVID-19 would have to return to work again after ten days of isolation have passed.
Not to mention that the return to work requires them to be free of any symptoms for the next 48 hours as well.
On top of that, the store manager also added that all employees of the Apple Store in Texas would be required to take their rapid anti-test before the store will reopen again on Monday, Dec. 13.
Apple Store Black Friday COVID-19 Outbreak
Although the Cupertino giant has laid out some stringent precautionary regulations among its workforce, some of the employees of the Texas Apple Store are claiming that they are not subscribing to these rules strictly.
NBC further spoke with the current and former employees of the Apple Store location.
The employees claimed that the manager of the store reached out to encourage them to report to work even after they had notified the manager that they were not feeling well.
Two of them have taken the COVID-19 survey from Apple, which ended up with a result saying that they should not report for work. However, the manager allegedly still encouraged them to do otherwise.
According to the news outlet, the manager of the said Apple Store location has yet to respond to any comments.
Apple Store and Face Masks
Meanwhile, last Nov. 5, Apple Stores in over 100 locations have already dropped the mask mandate, at least for their customers.
On the other hand, the employees of the retail stores are still required to wear their face masks during work hours.
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This article is owned by Tech Times
Written by Teejay Boris
