Apple is hoping to start reopening stores in the first half of April

A month ago, Apple closed all of its retail stores outside of China due to the coronavirus outbreak. Now, according to a Bloomberg report, the company is looking to start reopening them in the first half of April. 

Bloomberg quotes an internal memo Apple has sent to its staff as saying that the stores will be reopened on a “staggered” basis. 

“At this time, we anticipate some stores may be able to open in the first half of April depending on the conditions in their community,” reads the memo, signed by Apple’s senior vice president of people and retail Deirdre O’Brien.

The memo also reportedly told employees that the company’s work from home arrangements will be extended through at least April 5. 

Apple originally said its stores outside of China will remain closed until March 27, but that date now seems impossible as the spread of COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus, has worsened in most places where Apple has stores. 

Even the tentative “first half of April” timeline sounds optimistic for most markets. In the United States, the outbreak has severely worsened in the last couple of days, with more than 30,000 new cases in the last three days alone, according to Worldometers. In total, COVID-19 — the disease caused by coronavirus — has so far killed 709 people and infected more than 53,200 in the U.S. 

In many other countries where Apple has a strong presence, such as Australia, Austria, Canada, France, Germany, Spain, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, the outbreak has been worsening as well. 

COVID-19 has so far killed more than 16,300 and infected more than 375,000 people globally.