Coronavirus forces Samsung to shut down all its stores in the US

Samsung has confirmed that it's temporarily shutting down all of its stores in the United States as part of an effort to contain the spread of this deadly virus. The company says that it has taken this decision in the best interests of its employees and customers.

Samsung US temporarily closes all of its retail stores

YH Eom, President and CEO of Samsung Electronics America, confirmed in a message to customers that all Samsung stores in the United States have been closed temporarily. It hasn't been disclosed when the stores would reopen but it's definitely going to take a few weeks, if not more. Samsung will only think about reopening the stores once the spread has been contained and social distancing guidelines are relaxed.

Customers in the United States can still order products from Samsung's online store. All of its online customer care channels are also open so 24-hour support is available through Samsung Care, its Facebook and Twitter accounts in addition to phone support at 1-800-SAMSUNG. The company says that all orders from Samsung.com will be fulfilled as quickly as possible.

This wasn't an isolated move from Samsung Electronics America. All Samsung Experience Stores in China were previously shut down while Samsung Canada has also decided to shut down all of its stores. Samsung has also strongly advised its employees to work from home where possible while also limiting travel for its employees to only mission-critical journeys.

It's quite possible that we may see Samsung make a similar decision in other countries across the globe where it has a big retail footprint. If the stores are still open in your country, perhaps take advantage of its free Galaxy Sanitizing Service to get your Galaxy phone disinfected before they're also shut down. You should also follow Samsung's guide on how to disinfect your phone on your own in order to protect against the coronavirus.