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Apple Reopens All 270 Retail Stores in the United States
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The United States is approximately 40 times larger in terms of land mass than the UK. Additionally, we have over 350 million citizens spread out over that area in comparison to the 65 million in the UK. We also have 50 states, the District of Colombia, and several territories that are quite distant from each other.
If I had to choose between distributing vaccines (which is largely a state's issue-I live in Texas, one of the most vaccinated states in the country at the moment) for a large area like the US or your relatively small island(s) I'd take the latter.
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Hey the world is a spooky place. Fact is, today, even with the pandemic the world is safer than it has ever been to venture outside (I could list tons of things that humans don't have to deal with anymore, much more dangerous than covid, only a 100-150 years ago).
So take your precautions, and deem what is an acceptable risk to you. If you never go outside, sure you reduce your chance, but also reduce your chance of getting run over by a car 99.9%. Good luck, stay safe.
As far as the original article, I'm glad to see the stores re-open. For certain devices, I'd like to see in person before buying them. I am not a serial buy/return person.
My re-usable cloth mask that is as porous as teenager's face has kept me covid free!
All retail employees have continued to be employed since the initial shutdowns. Some were re-tasked to supporting phone and online service and support while the remainder continued to be paid, regardless if their store was actually open for business. Family member works retail and when they were closed and not yet helping online support, they were continuously participating in training and other job education.
Apple did right by their employees.
And like many others here have said, most stores are still working from an Express model where they either are only open for online order pickups from specified parking outside the store, or at DMV/bank teller style plexiglass enclosures at the very front of the store. Those that are actual open to customers are appointment based only and at a far reduced capacity with mandatory social distancing.
I do feel for those Apple employees working in the latter environment as there are still plenty of inconsiderate *******s who think they are entitled to a mask/consequence free lifestyle and insist on shopping in the stores but from what I've heard, Apple is pretty rigid with their in store requirements (no mask, no in-store service) and is continuously sanitizing/cleaning all surfaces throughout the day.
At the end of the day, there are plenty of alternative shopping and support options besides going into the stores so if that concerns you, use online shopping/telephone support in the meantime.
The only cautious approach apple can do is to ensure all their employees are vaccinated, both for their health and wellbeing and that of their customers, anything else is negligent.
Unfortunately, vaccinations are not determined by Apple. Then we reach the slippery slope of requiring vaccinations for all employees.
Personally, I'd be for that, but that is not my hill to die on
At least you still have your positivity. 👍
It doesn’t affect me one way or the other, I do everything online now in terms of ordering and if there’s something to be serviced, I just mail it in.
I think it’s an optimistic move for Apple re-opening stores, but with caution. If there’s any company that will utilize safety to its fullest extent, it would be Apple.
I think it’s an optimistic move for Apple re-opening stores, but with caution. If there’s any company that will utilize safety to its fullest extent, it would be Apple.
A big study done with different mask types, homemade, surgical, n95, kn95.
Their findings showed differences in particle emissions, but no mask was well fitted, just casually worn by the test subject.
"The fit of surgical and KN95 respirators differs substantially. Here, no fit tests were performed to ensure good seals of the KN95 respirators. It may be that imperfect fitting of KN95 respirators allows for greater escape of particles from the mask-covered environment compared to the more flexible surgical masks. Regardless, all surgical masks, KN95 and N95 respirators tested here provided substantial reduction of particle emission compared to no mask."
source https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-72798-7#citeas https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-72798-7
Cases, hospitalizations, and deaths are sharply down in the United States compared to the peak earlier this year. As an example, current US COVID-related hospitalizations are under 50,000, compared to more than 130,000 at the peak in January.
I'm not arguing that Apple should be openings stores now; in fact, I think they should wait several more weeks. I only want to point out that your comment is wildly inaccurate.
I've strayed away from getting masks on Amazon just because there have been so many fraudulent products, especially those needed for covid. I remember some of the crap toilet paper I got. Wow, barely paper at all.
They aren't determined granted, but Apple are in the position with all their $ in the bank to at least offer it? Hearing about how litigation friendly the US is, what would happen if *we* come out this the other side ok & someone catches it from an apple store employee who wasn't vaccinated, who's responsible, employee or company or customer? My point is to reopen all stores whilst it's still in circulation means putting staff at risk, even though slightly if you believe no harm will come of it, do staff sign a counter-disclaimer to state they can't sue apple if they catch it at work? Fortunately in the UK we aren't forced to pay for the healthcare, but in other countries like the U.S who do, who's then responsible?
Cases and hospitalizations are down sharply compared to the massive uptick during the holidays, but still higher, in general, than the average of 2020.
I am well aware of the size of the United States. What I was referring to was the fact that non-essential retail stores are reopening when the United States is suffering very very badly from the epidemic
I have not advocated for no masks. I simply said that n95 can be a challenge for most of the population and have undesired effects.
Of course not, I was just trying to say that a kn95, seemingly worn poorly, still seems to be better for everyone than a cloth mask, worn properly or not.
That’s a good sign. The vaccinations and will continue to improve mortality and more importantly hospitalization rates. My brother is an Intensivist and his ICU is nearly wide open now, with only a few intubated with COVID. 2 months ago they were using space where ever they could find it. It of course depends on the region etc, but on the whole, the numbers are looking a whole lot better.
Understood. At that point, it all becomes about behavior, so it's important to mention about the pitfalls of wearing what is considered one of the best masks around.
yeah, I assume that by summer we'll be back to some form of normalcy. Vaccines are a game changer.
No it isn’t and that’s an over simplification of the cause of mortality. I do agree that those who refuse to mask in public are showing his/her ignorance or stubbornnes, however, they are not the cause of the death rates in the US. Look at the baseline heath status of Americans. Speaking as a medical student/health professional in Tennessee, and have a brother who is a pulmonologist/intensivist I am intimately aware of the demographics of COVID patients admitted to the ICU and/or morgue. Americans who are suffering and/or have died from COVID were overwhelmingly older and/or sick at baseline, and particularly the domino effects of obesity, hypertension, and diabetes, which is rampant. If your cardiovascular system is already compromised, your outcomes are significantly worse against a vasculopathy type disease like COVID.
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Gloves are useless. The issue is touching your hands to your face and the presence of gloves does nothing to inhibit the transfer of virus from your hands to your face and vice versa.
Sure, statistically, older people die easier from covid. Doesn't mean those who are young didn't die from covid. They still did. Maybe they don't make as bold a dot on your graph but their lives are just as important and most likely could have been prevented if they weren't out and about in the world, and when they were, they wore masks.
We all know that every trip to the grocery store could be the time we catch covid from some idiot who had a block party over the weekend, whats worse is when that idiot also has his mask under his nose.
COVID-19 has killed thousands of young Americans. This is not just a tragedy for the elderly.
Cody Lyster of Colorado and Bryant Boyer-Killion of Illinois both died of COVID-19 at age 21. Their deaths, sadly, are not anomalies.
www.businessinsider.com