Arab News Japan

The outbreak of the coronavirus, COVID-19, lead to closures of many restaurants, cafes, and entertainment venues. The latest victim of the virus are three watch companies’ factories.

Patek Philippe, Audemars Piguet and Hublot were the most recent companies to shut down their production facilities in Switzerland temporarily.

Patek Philippe made an announcement on their Instagram page that it had shut down their productions sites and its head office starting March 18 until March 27.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B94O1UOlrDy/

The watch company wrote in an email: “Keeping everyone’s safety top of mind at all times will help us to navigate this challenging period and by doing this we may contribute to the stabilization of the situation, hoping that we will be able to safely revert to our activities as soon as possible.” Additionally, the luxury watchmaker posted on Instagram that it “decided to temporarily suspend [its] monthly Instagram rendezvous on the 18th of each month.”

Audemars Piguet also announced on their Twitter page the closure of their factories as “people’s safety remains at the heart” of their priorities.

https://twitter.com/AudemarsPiguet/status/1240347106784747520?s=20

LVMH-owned Hublot wrote in a post on instagram their plan to close down its Nyon outpost indefinitely.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B91loisBuAf/?utm_source=ig_embed

Switzerland has recently declared a state of emergency until April 19. The Swiss government ordered the shut down of “all shops, restaurants, bars, and entertainment and leisure facilities… with the exception of grocery stores, pharmacies and health facilities.”