Apple Stores in Italy to begin reopening on May 19
Apple plans to reopen 10 out of 17 of its Italian Apple Stores on May 19th, according to sources who suggest the locations will operate reduced opening hours of 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. local time with health and safety measures in place.
The reopening of Apple’s retail stores in Italy would follow after the company opened a select number of locations in the United States and all of their stores in Australia on reduced hours earlier this month.
Apple is yet to officially confirm that its stores will reopen in Italy next week but local website iSpazio claimed on Thursday that stores in the Piedmont and Lombardy regions will be the first to open in the country, citing “an absolutely certain source”, most likely an Apple Store employee.
Like other Apple retail locations, the Italian stores are expected to limit the number of customers in the store at one time. Each visitor will be subject to a temperature check at the entrance and will be given a protective face mask to wear while in the store. Additionally, employees will undergo health checks at the beginning of each shift with increased demo device cleaning in place and staff encouraged to communicate with one another through the Apple Store’s employee Chat app.
Italy was initially the worst country in Europe to be hit by the novel coronavirus. Fatalities continue to exceed 29,000 and more than 223,000 confirmed cases in the country.