Coronavirus forces shut down of Today At Apple sessions in US, Canada and Japan

Apple has been forced to suspend all of its Today At Apple sessions throughout the U.S., Canada and Japan because of the coronavirus pandemic.

First reported by MacRumors:

Apple today announced that it is temporarily pausing its "Today at Apple" programming as a precautionary measure amid the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, with sessions canceled at all Apple Stores in the United States and Canada until further notice.

Apple had previously announced a special month of sessions called 'She Creates' in celebration of International Women's' Day. It is unclear whether Apple plans to postpone these or to simply resume a normal program of workshops and tutorials once the suspension is lifted.

As we first reported earlier this week, Apple was initially forced into similar action in Italy, canceling Today at Apple sessions in all stores but leaving them open for appointments and customers.

Since then Apple has closed all of its Italy stores after the country went into lockdown.

Apple has also chosen to halt Today at Apple sessions in Japan, as with other suspensions the duration of these remain unclear.

Apple's decision to close stores and suspend today at Apple sessions are largely in response to wider global government measures designed to prevent the spread of the virus, particularly to those who are most vulnerable.

The coronavirus has had a large impact on Apple as a whole with regard to its stores, customer count, revenue and supply chains which have reduced overall supply of stock and inventory and could force Apple to delay its upcoming product launches and perhaps rethink events such as WWDC.