It seems that the worst for businesses is far from over. Apple Inc. is temporarily closing all of its retail stores across California including those in the greater London area hit impacted by a new lockdown, and other markets that are impacted by resurge in Covid-19 cases. Also Read: From Mandatory FASTags To Costlier Cars, Know The Changes To Be Implemented From 2021

The Cupertino, California, based company announced on its website on Saturday about closure of its all 53 locations across the Golden State, a day after saying it would shut its stores in the Los Angeles area. The company is forced to temporarily close shops in major locations in the San Francisco Bay Area. However, it didn't mention anything about reopening the stores.

The outlets are being closed just at the peak of the holiday shopping season. The company had been eying to top $100 billion in quarterly revenue for the first time on sales of the iPhone 12, its latest iPads, and new Apple Watches.

Since the pandemic has hit the countries worldwide, Apple went on to reopen its majority of over 270 U.S stores in recent months. However, most of the locations were by appointment only. For the stores still open, Apple has transitioned many into what it’s calling “Express" stores. That converts the front portion of locations into bank teller-like lines for people to buy products and pick up items sent for repair.

The iPhone maker will also close its stores in Mexico and Brazil temporarily as cases increase in both countries.

“Due to current Covid-19 conditions in some of the communities we serve, we are temporarily closing stores in these areas," Apple said in a statement. “We take this step with an abundance of caution as we closely monitor the situation and we look forward to having our teams and customers back as soon as possible."

California has emerged as the hotspot in the U.S. in recent weeks. The infection in the states has crossed the 1.8 million mark on Saturday, when it added 43,608 new infections and 272 deaths, for a total of 22,432 fatalities.

The move also include Apple’s retail stores at its offices in Silicon Valley. It marks one of the largest string of closures for Apple’s stores since the beginning of the pandemic in March.