#Apple reportedly offers coronavirus tests to returning employees

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The entrance to Apple’s headquarters in Cupertino, Calif.
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Apple is reportedly offering coronavirus tests to employees at its Bay Area campus as they begin to return to the office after months of working from home.

In addition to having their temperature taken and being required to wear a mask at One Infinite Loop, Apple workers will have the option to get a nasal swab test as well, according to Bloomberg.

Apple was one of the earliest companies to send its employees home, doing so on March 8. But unlike other Silicon Valley giants like Facebook and Twitter — which have publicly spoken about allowing employees to work remotely permanently — Apple needs people in the office to work on its hardware products.

In March it was reported that the launch of the next iPhones may be delayed by “practical hurdles” caused by the coronavirus.

Apple traditionally needs to send engineers back and forth from its offices to its factories in China to finalize designs in the lead-up to the product’s release. But the coronavirus has led Apple to restrict employee travel to hotbeds of the disease, including China.

The Cupertino, Calif., company recently announced that it would be reopening more than 100 of its US retail locations after a months-long closure due to the pandemic.

Shares of Apple were up 1.7 percent Friday morning, trading at $327.84.