Apple, with a little help from its suppliers, has managed to source as many as twenty million masks for healthcare workers, according to an update by its chief executive Tim Cook.
In a Twitter video shared yesterday evening, Cook reiterated Apple’s dedication in supporting the worldwide response to COVID-19, a disease caused by the novel coronavirus.
“We’ve now sourced over twenty million masks through our supply chain,” he said. “Our design, engineering, operations and packaging teams are also working with suppliers to design, produce and ship face shields for medical workers,” Cook added.
Apple is dedicated to supporting the worldwide response to COVID-19. We’ve now sourced over 20M masks through our supply chain. Our design, engineering, operations and packaging teams are also working with suppliers to design, produce and ship face shields for medical workers. pic.twitter.com/3xRqNgMThX
— Tim Cook (@tim_cook) April 5, 2020
Here’s the full transcript of Tim’s video message:
Hello everyone.
In these very challenging and difficult times, I hope you’re staying safe and well.
Teams across Apple have been working hard on ways we can support our heroic frontline medical professionals and I want to share two updates today.
First, the number of masks we’ve been able to source through our supply chain has risen to over twenty million around the world. This is a truly global effort and we’re working continuously and closely with governments at all levels to ensure these are donated to places of greatest need.
Second, we’ve launched a company-wide effort bringing together product designers, engineering operations and packaging teams — and our suppliers — to design, produce and ship face shields for health workers.
Our first shipment was delivered to Kaiser hospital facilities in the Santa Clara Valley this past week and the feedback from doctors was very positive. These pack flat, one hundred to a box. Each shield is assembles in less than two minutes and is fully adjustable.
We’re sourcing materials and manufacturing in the US and China.
We plan to ship over one million by the end of this week and over one million per week after that. We are closely coordinating with medical professionals and government officials across the US to get these to where they’re needed most urgently.
We hope to quickly expand distribution beyond the US. In both these efforts, our focus is on unique ways Apple can help, meeting essential needs of caregivers urgently and at a scale the circumstances require.
For Apple, this is a labor of love and gratitude. We will share more of our efforts over time. In the meantime, each of us can stop the spread of the virus by following expert advice to stay home and practice social distancing.
Thank you for all you’re doing to help in your own life.
Thank you again to those on the front lines of this fight.
Stay safe and stay healthy.
Cook’s update arrived less than two weeks after he acknowledged that Apple was donating ten million N95 masks to health care workers in the US and Europe.
Proud to share we’ve been able to source 10M masks for the US and millions more for the hardest hit regions in Europe. Our ops teams are helping to find and purchase masks from our supply chain in coordination with governments around the world. pic.twitter.com/uTsA6eA5ks
— Tim Cook (@tim_cook) March 25, 2020
Last week, the Cupertino giant said it had more than doubled its corporate donations for COVID-19 recovery efforts in China to $7 million.
What do you make of Cook’s message?
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