Apple’s Friday decided to temporarily close stores in four states, after reopening in view of growing cases of Covid-19, the media reported.

Apple, like many other major US retailers, shut down all of its US locations in March.

A total of about 11 stores will be shut down as a result of the new safety drive, six stores in Arizona, two in North Carolina, one in South Carolina, and another two in Florida, TechCrunch reported on Friday.

“Due to current COVID-19 conditions in some of the communities we serve, we are temporarily closing stores in these areas,” Apple was quoted as saying in a statement.

Earlier in a letter to customers, Apple’s Senior Vice president of Retail and People, Deirdre O’Brien, explained the company’s approach to reopening its stores.

“Our commitment is to only move forward with a reopening once we’re confident we can safely return to serving customers from our stores. We look at every available piece of data — including local cases, near and long-term trends, and guidance from national and local health officials,” he said.

The move heightens concerns that the pandemic might keep the economy in the doldrums longer than expected. Those worries sent stocks on Wall Street lower.

It’s not clear whether other retailers will follow en masse, although one analyst expects hard-hit stores to stay open unless forced to close by local authorities.

Many other businesses, including manufacturing, travel, dining, and entertainment, have been steadily reopening where they can while taking health precautions. But some have recently pulled back or paused their plans.

The Cupertino, California, company has continued to sell iPhones and other products online, and other retailers can do so as well if they decide to close, said Craig Johnson, president of retail consultancy Customer Growth Partners.

I don’t think this is going to be a giant stumbling block for Apple or anybody else. You can still get almost everything you need online somewhere, he said.

Johnson noted that the country’s biggest retailers, Walmart and Target, did not shut down, and neither did appliance chains like Home Depot and Lowe’s. If other chains that aren’t deemed essential do shut down stores, he would expect closures to be limited to areas with rising cases.

Still, retail has been hit hard, with declining profits and bankruptcies. Retail earnings shrank 70% in the first quarter, excluding Walmart, said Ken Perkins of Retail Metrics, and second-quarter earnings are expected to drop another 45%.