Starbucks reopens most stores in China, citing 'early signs of recovery' from coronavirus

• Starbucks said Thursday that 85% of its stores in China are now open for business, following temporary closures due to coronavirus concerns.
• "With the number of new cases in China slowing, we are seeing the early signs of a recovery in the region," Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson wrote in a letter to employees.
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Starbucks has reopened most of its stores in China after temporarily closing thousands of locations due to concerns over the novel coronavirus.

"We now have 85 percent of stores open across China," Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson tweeted on Thursday, along with a video from a Shanghai store.

"This video from Belinda Wong, Starbucks China, was taken at the Shanghai Roastery, where our partners are full of joy to be back behind the bar serving customers," he wrote.

Starbucks has more than 4,200 locations in China. The company closed roughly half of them last month over coronavirus concerns.

In a letter to employees on the reopening, Johnson cited "early signs of a recovery."

"With the number of new cases in China slowing, we are seeing the early signs of a recovery in the region," he wrote, according to Yahoo News. "As a result, the situation is improving throughout major parts of China."