Apple Reclosing Some Stores in Texas Amid Spiking Coronavirus Cases

[MacRumors]

Apple is closing seven retail stores located in the Houston, Texas area, as coronavirus outbreaks in the state continue to climb.

Last week, Apple shuttered stores in Florida, Arizona, North Carolina, and South Carolina, with no details on when those stores might reopen.

In Texas, the following stores are closing on June 25, as noted by 9to5Mac: Highland Village, First Colony Mall, Houston Galleria, Memorial City, Willowbrook Mall, Baybrook, and the Woodlands.

Apple started reopening stores in the United States in May, and ahead of when the store closures restarted, more than 150 of the 271 stores in the United States had reopened. Coronavirus cases are climbing in some areas of the United States, however, leading Apple to reclose stores in affected areas.

When the first store openings started happening in May, Apple's retail chief Deirdre O'Brien said that Apple would only reopen stores when it is confident that it can safely serve customers.

Apple's decisions to close or reopen stores are based on data evaluation, such as local cases, near and long-term trends, and guidance from national and local health officials. At the time stores were reopened, O'Brien warned that Apple would not hesitate to close stores again if coronavirus cases spiked.

"These are not decisions we rush into - and a store opening in no way means that we won't take the preventative step of closing it again should local conditions warrant," O'Brien said.

Even as Apple prepares to close stores in Houston, Apple reopened several stores this week in Chicago, Colorado, Maryland, Minnesota, Virginia, and more.

In stores that have reopened, Apple is implementing safety measures that include mandatory masks, social distancing, frequent cleaning, temperature checks, and more. In some locations, stores are open only for repairs and curb-side pickup, while others are open but with a limited number of people allowed in at one time.

Article Link: Apple Reclosing Some Stores in Texas Amid Spiking Coronavirus Cases

 

[macbeth1026]

I think we’re all just a tad quick to feel like this is over. We’re not even out of the first wave yet.

 

[farewelwilliams]

time to sell your stonks

 

[mabaker]

Money trumps everything. Always.

 

[newyorksole]

This year is a mess.

 

[2010mini]

time to sell your stonks

bad advise. If the price goes down, I would advise buying more.

 

[now i see it]

Pretty much everywhere will see increased cases compared to the days when everyone was huddling in their homes. History may show that closing businesses only prolonged the inevitable

 

[yaxomoxay]

History may show that closing businesses only prolonged the inevitable

Well, the initial closure was to prevent overwhelming the healthcare system (the so-called flattening the curve, that most people erroneously interpreted as "less cases overall") and to buy some time to get to know the monster.

 

[Tubamajuba]

Houston is screwed. Hopefully people around here will take it more seriously now, but good call on closing stores in the meantime.

 

[yaxomoxay]

This year is a mess.

Godzilla is scheduled for July, reptilian invasion is scheduled for August, and the AI Skynet revolution is scheduled for October. September is free for now.

 

[Baymowe335]

Of course cases are going up. Almost no one is following any precautions.

Closing again is useless unless you plan on being closed until there is a vaccine and maybe even then it’s like the flu vaccine that isn’t even very effective.

This is just something we have to deal with now. Slowing it down was the goal originally and you can’t do it forever. Deaths have dropped, so just likely going to have to let it run its course.
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Well, the initial closure was to prevent overwhelming the healthcare system (the so-called flattening the curve, that most people erroneously interpreted as "less cases overall") and to buy some time to get to know the monster.

Too true. Closing stuff doesn’t stop the virus and when you come out, it’s still there. Unless you’re ready to quarantine indefinitely, (not feasible) this is the reality.

I think we should stop reporting daily cases publicly. Does nothing.

 

[44267547]

People don’t get it, if you don’t have to go to a store for Something that can be remedied by purchasing online, shipping your product for repairs, etc., then don’t. The Problem I see, is people don’t want to be the example of what to do as advised From all the professional health advice we have available to us with resources, And yet, it’s more important for people to put their ‘wants‘ first in terms of grouping where it’s unnecessary.

 

[Baymowe335]

Pretty much everywhere will see increased cases compared to the days when everyone was huddling in their homes. History may show that closing businesses only prolonged the inevitable

I agree. Increased cases was an inevitability when quarantine was lifted. Big deal. What does a positive case mean other than you’re probably going to survive?

If you’re in a risk group, quarantine and take precautions. Otherwise, live your life(and take precautions).
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People don’t get it, if you don’t have to go to a store for Something that can be remedied by purchasing online, shipping your product for repairs, etc., then don’t. The Problem I see, is people don’t want to be the example of what to do as advised From all the professional health advice we have available to us with resources, And yet, it’s more important for people to put their ‘wants‘ first in terms of grouping where it’s unnecessary.

I mean, you still gotta respect people making their own decisions too. This virus isn’t super dangerous for healthy, young people as an example. They don't want to sit at home forever. Why should they have to? This isn’t Ebola. Wear a mask and live your life.

We didn’t huddle at home for the flu that killed 61,000. Yeah. Yeah. This killed more people, but what if I told you we could have saved 30,000 people from the flu by quarantine? You would have to vote yes, right? Or you don’t value human life? /Covid argument.

We take risks every day. I could reduce airplane crashes too if I banned air travel. Same with car crashes. Everything in life is risk reward. This virus is certainly not the most dangerous health risk.

 

[yaxomoxay]

Too true. Closing stuff doesn’t stop the virus and when you come out, it’s still there. Unless you’re ready to quarantine indefinitely, (not feasible) this is the reality.

I think we should stop reporting daily cases publicly. Does nothing.

Yes, # of positive cases is virtually irrelevant, especially if stripped from other context (tests performed, negative tests, hospitalizations, ventilators usage, and deaths). The problem is that somewhere along the way the conversation about "flattening the curve" got lost into a "reduce positive cases" for the sake of reducing positive cases.

 

[itsmilo]

This year is a mess.

indeed. My home country was just hit by an earth quake yesterday and now there is a huge sandstorm from the Sahara (how random!) approaching

 

[macsplusmacs]

Can someone please press the Reset Switch on the gigantic PS4 Pro 2020 is currently running on?

 

[Cycom]

Second wave! Surge! We’re all gonna die!

 

[yaxomoxay]

People don’t get it, if you don’t have to go to a store for Something that can be remedied by purchasing online, shipping your product for repairs, etc., then don’t.

Problem is that if you don't shop in local stores (even chains) they will be forced to shut down, which in turn will overwhelm the online delivery system, the USPS system, and online retailer in general, which will in turn cause low availability of items which in turn will turn into some sort of panic on general items, which is the last thing you want. (and I am not even going into the whole unemployment or business owners issue). We already had a preview of this.

 

[Baymowe335]

Yes, # of positive cases is virtually irrelevant, especially if stripped from other context (tests performed, negative tests, hospitalizations, ventilators usage, and deaths). The problem is that somewhere along the way the conversation about "flattening the curve" got lost into a "reduce positive cases" for the sake of reducing positive cases.

And I question some of the testing methodology too. There are clearly certain days with more tests, likely indicating artificial “spikes” simply based on schedules or something unrelated.

Reality is, there are likely 10X more positive cases than even reported. This is likely a good thing because it means the death rate is far lower than it looks and we are developing more and more people with antibodies.

It also means the virus itself is not a killing machine. It just sucks for people who are already at risk, but healthy people will be fine. The asymptomatic cases are actually encouraging, particularly since the CDC has said those people are unlikely to transmit.

 

[NickName99]

If folks wear masks, keep up social distancing, keep up testing, and we do quarantining and contact tracing of sick people, we can do way better. Take a look at Europe. They’re doing the right things, it’s not magic.

 

[furqan8421]

I have no issue with them closing these stores

What I question is why they don’t also close stores in Austin and San Antonio which have also had dramatic spikes in positive cases recently

 

[Baymowe335]

I have no issue with them closing these stores

What I question is why they don’t also close stores in Austin and San Antonio which have also had dramatic spikes in positive cases recently

Yes, very dramatic. I’m so scared now...more testing after a quarantine lift is causing more cases. I’m shocked.

 

[normang]

If they are doing this based on what the media reports, they are merely costing themselves income.. Most of the media with rare exceptions is ginning this up. As they test more, they get more results, most people are asymptomatic, and hospitalizations and ventilations and fatalities are way way down.. States with the least barriers are doing far better than states that went overboard on the lockdowns, Course hardly anyone is counting the other human costs created by this..

As someone else noted, some how the bar got moved, it changed from flatten the curve to stop it at all costs, which of course is ridiculous.. The more we get out, the more people may become infected, and since 99% or so recover or have no symptoms, they become immune..

 

[yaxomoxay]

If folks wear masks, keep up social distancing, and we do quarantining and contact tracing of sick people, we can do way better. Take a look at Europe.

Europe is down now simply because they did a full lockdown, something that almost no one in the US did. The virus didn't magically disappear from Europe, and now that they are reopening, seeing protests, and public events etc, they will also see a spike (see Germany). The roles have simply reversed, Europe used to be 15/30-ish days ahead the US, now it's the US that is ahead.

 

[furqan8421]

And I question some of the testing methodology too. There are clearly certain days with more tests, likely indicating artificial “spikes” simply based on schedules or something unrelated.

Reality is, there are likely 10X more positive cases than even reported. This is likely a good thing because it means the death rate is far lower than it looks and we are developing more and more people with antibodies.

It also means the virus itself is not a killing machine. It just sucks for people who are already at risk, but healthy people will be fine. The asymptomatic cases are actually encouraging, particularly since the CDC has said those people are unlikely to transmit.

The number of positive cases certainly may be affected by more testing, but the number of hospitalized has jumped dramatically as well. While hospital systems in general have claimed to be hurting financially, patient’s need to meet admission criteria to be admitted to a hospital. Which means at least some sort of symptoms that cannot safely be managed as an outpatient.

So there’s more to it than the death rate Or the number of positive cases. It’s more likely that more people are getting infected because more of the general population has the virus - whether they are symptomatic themselves or not. And unfortunately some of those with symptoms are to the point they are being hospitalized, which inevitably would lead to more deaths (though I hope this can be avoided)