Samsung has closed its stores in US, Canada during coronavirus outbreak

Ben Schoon | Mar 19 2020 - 7:46 am PT

As COVID-19 spreads throughout the world and starts to affect more of North America, Samsung wants to protect the health of both its customers and employees. As such, all Samsung stores are now closed until further notice to minimize the spread of coronavirus.

Announced earlier this week, Samsung has closed all of its stores in both the United States and Canada as of March 17 due to the coronavirus. Samsung says, despite closed stores, customers will still be able to get support through Samsung Care, Facebook/Twitter, or over the phone, and shipments from Samsung.com will still be sent.

Samsung did not mention whether the employees of its stores will still be paid while the stores are closed.

As we continue to navigate these uncertain times, the health and well-being of our employees and customers are our top priority.

We know you rely on Samsung products to stay connected, informed, and entertained, as well as to keep your homes running effectively. As such, we’re taking steps to both protect and serve you during this unprecedented time.

In an effort to minimize the spread of the virus, I am sorry to announce we are temporarily closing all Samsung US stores as of today, Tuesday, March 17.

Nothing matters more to us than the relationships that we’ve built with our customers over the past 40 years in America. We appreciate your loyalty and understanding, and will continue to update you during this ever-evolving situation. We wish you, your families and your friends strength and good health.

Notably, this also means that Samsung’s Galaxy Sanitizing Service will no longer be operating in the US and Canada. The previously announced service offered everyone free disinfection of their smartphones within Samsung stores using UV-C light. The loss of that provision, perhaps, is the biggest shame of this closure.