Apple has commenced with the relaunch of 44 of its retail stores in China, a month after the nationwide lockdown enforced by the coronavirus.
China leads the way in fighting coronavirus
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has looked to China for inspiration in leading the prevention of coronavirus infections. The country has been recognised for its progressive efforts in reducing deaths and new cases.
According to the WHO’s Situation Report for Thursday, China recorded 26 new cases and 11 deaths. This is in stark contrast to other countries.
Outside of China, 6 703 cases of coronavirus have been registered, accompanied by 310 deaths. Moreover, four new countries have, in the last 24 hours, reported new cases.
Business restored: Apple reopens all 44 stores in China
While the world’s governments scramble to get a foothold of coronavirus, things have eased up in China’s commerce.
Apple recently revealed that outside of the personal impacts of the coronavirus, its suffered massive losses in the month its China outlets were closed between February and March.
In fact, compared to the same period in 2019, wherein Apple sold 1.27 million iPhones, the tech giant only managed to sell 494 000 devices this time around.
Jinping appearance in Wuhan a greenlight to commerce
So, for corporate China, President Xi Jinping’s visit to Wuhan (since the virus outbreak), on Tuesday, was an indication for business to resume as usual.
As reported by The Guardian, officials in the Hubei province have implemented advanced preventative digital systems to help coordinate movement and avoid infections.
How Wuhan plans to lift movement ban
A smartphone system called Health Code has been rolled out in the province. It assigns individuals a colour which designates their level of risk for infecting others.
In the end, it is hoped that this will allow 56 million the freedom to travel in different areas.
This holds great promise for commerce in Asia and other parts of the world, especially Africa.