San Francisco, Dec 20 (IANS): Apple has temporarily closed all 53 stores in California in the US and over a dozen in London owing to a surge in Covid-19 cases.

The US remains the nation hit the worst by the pandemic, with the world's highest caseload and death toll, accounting for more than 18 per cent of the global deaths.

The states of California, Florida and New Jersey all confirmed more than 18,000 deaths on Thursday, reports Johns Hopkins University.

According to a report in 9to5Mac, Apple has temporarily closed every single retail store in California, many more across the US, both stores in Mexico, both stores in Brazil, and is about to close 16 additional stores across the UK.

"Due to current Covid-19 conditions in some of the communities we serve, we are temporarily closing stores in these areas," the company said in a statement.

The state of California has activated its emergency alert system in the San Francisco Bay Area for the first time since the pandemic began.

Apple closed all its retail stores outside Greater China in March as Covid-19 pandemic spread. The retail outlets were slowly opened as the pandemic eased in various countries.