Microsoft has temporarily closed its retail locations globally due to concerns over the spread of COVID-19.
David Porter, vice-president of Microsoft stores, made the announcement via a blog post this morning on LinkedIn.
“With today’s recommendation from the United States government to not gather in groups of more than 10 people, we will be temporarily closing Microsoft Store locations – effective immediately,” wrote Porter. “We are closing all Microsoft Store locations to help protect the health and safety of our customers and our employees. During this unprecedented time, the best way we can serve you is to do everything we can to help minimize the risk of the virus spreading. We will re-open as soon it is safe to do so.
Related:
A running list of cancelled or postponed tech events due to COVID-19
This follows a continuing trend of retail locations and other public areas being closed, as many governments have recommended restricting exposure to the public as much as possible, and to only go outside for absolutely necessary reasons.
In fact, Microsoft is not the first tech giant to close its retail locations, as Apple had already announced it will be closing all of its stores outside of China until March 27.
