Apple's Dilemma That Should Close All Its Stores Outside Of China

Ilustrasi Apple Store (Pixabay)

JAKARTA - The spread of the coronavirus or COVID-19 to various parts of the world. Forcing Apple to close most of its retail stores in a number of countries.

Even though Apple is just about to reopen its business in China. The reopening of the Apple Store is in line with the decline in the death rate and the number of patients infected with COVID-19 in China over the past few weeks.

Unfortunately, the decision was not in line with the condition of Apple Stores outside China. Because Apple CEO Tim Cook said via his personal Twitter and official blog, Apple had to close most of its retail stores globally.

"We will close all our retail stores outside of China until March 27," Cook said in a statement as quoted by CNBC.

Learning from the corona case that occurred in China, Cook said the most effective prevention to protect Apple employees and customers was to reduce congestion and widen the distance. This means that buying and selling activities with physical contact as usual will be temporarily eliminated.

Despite closing most of its retail stores in a number of countries, Apple still provides online services that can be accessed by users via apple.com. Online services continue to run, even though employees are encouraged to work from home.

If forced to have an office, Cook advised to comply with applicable guidelines, including maintaining distance between individuals. It also guarantees the rights of all employees to receive salaries and wages in accordance with normal operating hours.

Also on this occasion, Apple made a donation of 15 million US dollars, or around Rp.225 billion in current exchange rates. The funds were allocated by Apple to help those affected by the COVID-19 outbreak.

In our workplaces and communities, we must do all we can to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Apple will be temporarily closing all stores outside of Greater China until March 27 and committing $ 15M to help with worldwide recovery. https://t.co/ArdMA43cFJ

- Tim Cook (@tim_cook) March 14, 2020

For information, the COVID-19 outbreak has now spread globally with a large number of cases in Europe and the US. The World Health Organization (WHO) states that Europe has become the epicenter of the new virus.

The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that there are currently 142,320 cases of the Corona virus in at least 129 countries and regions. Of these, most cases outside China occurred in Italy, Iran and South Korea.