With 100 stores un-shuttered around the world, and 25 scheduled to re-open in the U.S. this week, Apple models best practices.
From a letter to customers by retail chief Dierdra O’Brien posted Sunday:
Face coverings will be required for all of our teams and customers, and we will provide them to customers who don’t bring their own. Temperature checks will be conducted at the door, and posted health questions will screen for those with symptoms — like cough or fever — or who have had recent exposure to someone infected with COVID‑19. Throughout the day, we’re conducting enhanced deep cleanings that place special emphasis on all surfaces, display products, and highly trafficked areas.
We’ve also taken this time to consider how we can serve our customers’ needs even more effectively, whether online or in our stores. For many stores, that will mean curb‑side pick‑up and drop off. If you choose to buy online, we can ship to your home or make your new items available for convenient pick‑up at our stores.
My take: Does it sound like Tim Cook expects the virus to magically disappear?
See also: Apple Stores reopen with masks, 2 meters and a gun
I do wish they would address the environmental in-store issues though, such as installing and ensuring sufficient HVAC airflow to clear out the store in X minutes or turn over the air X times per hour PLUS using replaceable charcoal activated HEPA – MERV 16 or above filters (near N95) plus UV or similar air purification (Both above seen in Lennox systems for home use). Obviously not easy if in a mall store but certainly possible in a company location built to LEED standards.
The biggest problem Apple Stores face is social distancing a line of waiting customers outside the store’s entrance.
Good analysis. If it were I, I would ONLY open the stores for repairs and such, and not for sales. And I’d have all the products behind glass where they couldn’t be touched. At the very least, I’d only allow folks touching access with permission, and immediately clean the surfaces with disinfectant.
One of those researchers might be Dr. Jay Bhattacharya (Stanford). Though he agrees that social distancing should continue, he says social distancing is not the mechanism to eradicate this disease, let alone the tragedy of shutting down the economy. He says, because it has not been eradicated, and cannot be until a vaccine is produced (which could a long time yet), it will bounce right back when the social distancing rules are lifted.
He has said all along, that the focus and resources should have been, and should still be focused on those people most vulnerable, the old and the poor. (As I understand Dr Jay, absent a vaccine, this is the only mechanism to eradicate the virus.)
That’s my point. As bad as influenza was, we know that SARS 2 is a lot worse. And even with a vaccine, SARS 2 will still cause lots of problems.
“long time until we can get even a rough estimate of the number of lives that were saved”
I agree. I don’t think there is any doubt the shutdown saved lives. And I agree with it’s necessity. We also won’t know for a long time the cost in lives because of the shut down. Working in healthcare, I have seen delays in cancer diagnosis. I’ve had patients whose cancer treatments were postponed, patients with chest pain afraid to go to the ER. We also had a local nursing home get hit with over 100 testing positive between staff and patients (luckily most were not sick). My point is that navigation thru all these problems is not easy, and we need to give those making tough decisions some leeway.
Will this 90,000 include the hundreds of thousands of “Covid linked” victims, like my long-time friend here in Toronto, who was sent home from hospital emergency once the medical professionals satisfied themselves she did not have Covid-19.
On April 5, my friend Denise (62 years) went to Toronto Western Hospital emergency experiencing intense pain in her back, shortness of breath. (She was over weight and a smoker.) Surely if this was not heart failure, it was something serious (like sepsis), and if left untreated would result in heart failure. But instead, once the medical authorities satisfied themselves Denise did not have Covid-19, they sent her home. She returned to emergency a few hours later, in greater distress, and once again she was sent home.
She was found dead the next morning, collapsed on the floor of her apartment, her prescriptions for Tylenol-3 and morphine pills unfilled.
So sad to think she was so poorly served. Many of you will think this is emblematic of the problems with universal medicine, which is what we have here in Canada.
All I remember is I was so angry I became preoccupied with other people like Denise, those among the poor and disabled (Denise was deaf) turned away from hospital emergency. I went around to take a look, a couple times, the waiting rooms are empty.
I don’t see myself waiting in a long line at my age. Besides, once inside I would feel the pressure to move quickly knowing others are outside looking inside and the imposition I am causing them by my salivating continually over all the new candies and tasting them one by one. So sad! I wonder what Steve would say.