Early Store Shutdowns and Distancing
As lockdown went into place to help fight the first wave of COVID-19, Apple was an early adopter of strict guidelines to help prevent transmission, especially in its more than 500 Apple stores. Apple shut down stores in many locations around the world and repeated shutdowns when it appeared that certain regions were experiencing a spike in COVID infections (more than 20 stores were shut down during the Omicron wave, for example). When stores were shut down, Apple continued to pay hourly workers their usual rates as if it was business as usual. The company also moved its WWDC event to an online-only conference, something almost all industries did during the worst of COVID.