Coronavirus: Nike closes stores in US and some other countries

A Nike store in Beijing on January 15, 2020; its stores in much of China remain open but those in the US and several other countries will close for 11 days

Washington (AFP) - Multinational sporting goods seller Nike will close its stores in the US, Canada, Western Europe, Australia and New Zealand for 11 days starting Monday in response to the coronavirus pandemic, it said in a statement received Sunday by AFP.

Nike stores in South Korea, Japan and much of China will remain open, however, the statement said.

It added that its online sales would continue as usual.

On Friday, the company had encouraged its US-based employees to work from home if possible. Nike has roughly 25,000 employees in the United States and more than 70,000 worldwide.

© Agence France-Presse