Apple Stores in Beijing Screening Customers for Fever Amid Coronavirus Outbreak

As expected, Apple reopened its five retail stores in the Beijing area today as the Wuhan coronavirus outbreak in China continues.

In a video shared by CNBC senior correspondent Eunice Yoon, Apple employees can be seen checking the body temperatures of customers as they enter the store for signs of fever. Yoon says Apple is also limiting the number of customers allowed in the store at once, resulting in smaller crowds than normally seen.

apple store beijing
The stores in Beijing have reduced hours of 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. local time. Apple's other stores in China remain closed until further notice.

There remains a lot of uncertainty regarding the coronavirus outbreak, which has resulted in extended shipping estimates for some Apple products and could impact the company's overall revenue this quarter. Apple operates over 40 stores in China, which represents less than 10 percent of its retail locations worldwide.


Apple recently provided its retail stores, authorized service providers, and carrier partners with an enhanced cleaning guide that recommends that demo Apple products be cleaned at least twice per day. The document, shared with MacRumors, contains best practices for using microfiber cloths as well as hand washing tips for employees.

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Top Rated Comments

Mr. Dee Avatar
62 months ago
This seems almost Appleocalyptic
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
centauratlas Avatar
62 months ago
It does little good to check for fever since people are contagious 5-14 days prior to fever. It doesn't hurt, but this is security health theater solely to calm people.

I can see them perhaps finding later that if my normal temperature is 97.6, in the 5-14 days prior to a traditional fever my temp was 98.5-98.9. An Apple Watch that knows your individual normal temperature and the same information from huge populations could perhaps be a good diagnostic tool in a few years. If it ever measures body temp.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
outskirtsofinfinity Avatar
62 months ago
It's highly contagious even when non-symptomatic. Didn't they get that memo?
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mw360 Avatar
62 months ago

It's highly contagious even when non-symptomatic. Didn't they get that memo?
Maybe they get their memos from the WHO...

https://www.who.int/news-room/q-a-detail/q-a-coronaviruses

According to recent reports, it may be possible that people infected with 2019-nCoV may be infectious before showing significant symptoms. However, based on currently available data, the people who have symptoms are causing the majority of virus spread.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
falkon-engine Avatar
62 months ago
Beijing's Apple Store employees are like: "Hurry up and buy" in their Menace II Society voice.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
orbital~debris Avatar
62 months ago
Following the COVID-19 outbreak, I could see Apple decide to get involved in this area of health, perhaps looking into how their current & future technologies could be brought to bear on identifying or tracking diseases of this nature.

I think they could contribute significantly in this field, building on what they’ve learned from developing Apple Watch.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)