DURHAM
The Apple store at the Streets at Southpoint mall in Durham is set to reopen Wednesday afternoon, after closing suddenly on Tuesday.
The closure came as Apple temporarily shut down around 20 stores in the U.S. due to the spread of COVID-19.
Apple has not responded to requests for comment about the closure.
But its online hours and an automated voicemail for the store said the Southpoint location would open at 2 p.m. on Wednesday — though the opening time had already been pushed back at least once on Wednesday.
A sign posted on the door of the Durham store on Tuesday did not give a reason for the store’s closure or a date for when the store might reopen. “We look forward to seeing you soon,” the sign said.
The New York Times reported on Monday that the iPhone maker has closed some stores as a precautionary measure to protect employees or because some stores did not have enough healthy employees available to work.
“We regularly monitor conditions, and we will adjust our health measures to support the well-being of customers and employees,” Amy Bessette, an Apple spokeswoman, told The Times.
Apple’s other retail stores across North Carolina remained open on Tuesday, including locations in Raleigh, Charlotte and Greensboro.
In recent weeks, some of Apple’s retail employees have expressed concerns about working conditions during the recent surge of COVID-19 cases that has resulted from the omicron variant. A few dozen retail employees staged a walkout on Christmas Eve due to complaints over insufficient paid sick leave and a lack of hazard pay, The Huffington Post reported.
Apple, which plans to open a large corporate campus in nearby Research Triangle Park, has also indefinitely delayed the reopening of its offices because of rising COVID-19 cases.
North Carolina’s COVID-19 positive test rate hit a record high Sunday, with 21.9% of tests coming back positive, The News & Observer reported.
Cases have continued to increase in the wake of holiday gatherings and the highly contagious omicron variant, some public health officials have speculated.
Over the last six days, North Carolina has reported more than 32,000 new COVID-19 cases.
This story was produced with financial support from a coalition of partners led by Innovate Raleigh as part of an independent journalism fellowship program. The N&O maintains full editorial control of the work. Learn more; go to bit.ly/newsinnovate
This story was originally published December 28, 2021 5:22 PM.