Apple to close stores in China through Feb 9 on virus fears

Bloomberg

Apple Inc will close its corporate offices, stores and contact centres in mainland China through February 9, a move the company says comes out of an “abundance of caution and based on the latest advice from leading health experts.”
The move comes as global companies with heavy Chinese footprints weigh how to respond to the threat of the spreading coronavirus that has prompted worldwide concern but remains primarily concentrated in China, the country where it first surfaced.
Australia’s largest airline Qantas Airways Ltd and Cebu Air Inc, the Philippines’ largest budget carrier, announced on Saturday they’d halt flights to China. Automakers Honda Motor Co and Nissan Motor Co have evacuated workers from Wuhan, where the virus first surfaced, while Starbucks Corp closed more than 2,000 locations in mainland China.
Apple is restricting employee travel to China to business-critical situations and it issued a revenue forecast that was wider than usual due to uncertainty surrounding the virus. The company said it would also increase the cleaning of its stores and take the temperature of retail workers.
The company said its online store in China will remain open even while its brick-and-mortar presence in China remains closed.

China cities delay return to work over virus threat
Bloomberg

The following Chinese cities and provinces have pushed back the resumption of most businesses and schools to help contain the outbreak of the coronavirus.
The Lunar New Year holiday is due to officially end on February 2.
Shanghai, Chongqing, the autonomous region of Inner Mongolia and provinces of Guangdong, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Hebei, Henan, Anhui, Fujian, Yunnan, Shandong and Jiangxi have said businesses need not start operations until at least February 10.
Hubei province, where Wuhan is located, has said the holiday will last until at least February 14.
Beijing said companies should let employees work from home until February 9. It added this would not apply to those working for public utilities and companies providing daily essentials.
Tianjin urged schools and companies to not resume until further notice.