Apple temporarily shuts all stores in mainland China over mounting Wuhan virus scare

Tech giant Apple on Saturday announced it has temporarily shut all its retail stores and offices across mainland China till February 10 as part of preemptive measures amid the outbreak of the deadly coronavirus that has killed more than 250 people and infected more than 10,000 others.

Apple said that the measure will come into force from Sunday till midnight of February 9, Russia Today reported. However, online stores of the company will remain open.

In its advisory, the company also restricted employees from travelling to the East Asian country. Some other multinational companies have also suspended business trips to China, or limited it to critical operations, according to media reports.

Meanwhile, Apple's key supplier, China-based 'Foxconn,' said that the business is running as normal despite the virus outbreak. The company assured that it has put forth all measures in place to "ensure that we can continue to meet all global manufacturing obligations."

Some of the Chinese provinces, municipalities and regions recommended businesses to prolong the Chinese New Year holidays and resume operations on February 10 at the earliest due to public health concerns.

To help those affected by the epidemic and mitigate damages for firms, the People's Bank of China further vowed today to provide financial support and cut lending rates. The central bank stressed that the impact of the outbreak on the broad economy should be temporary.