Major department stores shuttering nationwide in face of coronavirus threat

Department stores Macy’s, Nordstrom, Bloomingdale’s, Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue and Bergdorf Goodman are closing all physical stores amid the escalating threat of the novel coronavirus, COVID-19.

Macy’s, Inc., which owns Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s, and the beauty store chain Bluemercury, said Tuesday that it would be temporarily shuttering all its stores through at least March 31.

“The health and safety of our customers, colleagues and communities is our utmost priority. As a result of the recent COVID-19 developments, we have decided to temporarily close our stores. We will work with government and health officials to assess when we will reopen our stores and safely bring our colleagues back to work,” Jeff Gennette, CEO of Macy’s, Inc., said in a statement.

The Neiman Marcus Group, which owns Neiman Marcus, Bergdorf Goodman and Last Call, and Nordstrom, Inc., which owns Nordstrom, Nordstrom Rack and Trunk Club, said Tuesday that they too would be closing all physical stores for at least two weeks.

Saks Fifth Avenue said it also intends to remain closed for that same duration “unless otherwise instructed by government or public health officials, and we will reassess operations at that time.”

Customers of the department stores impacted by closures will still be able to purchase items online.

The department stores join dozens of other big brands ― including Converse, Guess, J. Crew, L.L. Bean, Nike, Patagonia, Sephora and Urban Outfitters ― that have chosen to shutter their doors in light of the coronavirus outbreak.

• This article originally appeared on HuffPost.