Tim Cook says Apple has donated more than 10 million masks to fight COVID-19
Apple CEO Tim Cook confirmed that Apple has sourced and is donating 10 million masks for the U.S., and is promising "millions more" for European regions hit hard by COVID-19.
Apple CEO Tim Cook, who is currently working from home, said that Apple is donating 10 million masks in the U.S. and will donate "millions more" to European regions.
The announcement comes a day after U.S. Vice President Mike Pence said that Apple was making a donation of 9 million N95 masks.
In a video posted to Twitter Wednesday, Cook clarified that Apple has, in fact, been able to secure 10 million masks for the U.S. He added that Apple's operations teams are coordinating with world governments to find and purchase masks from the company's supply chain.
Cook in a tweet Saturday said Apple was donating "millions" of masks to health professionals on the frontlines of the coronavirus outbreak.
In 2019, after a particularly bad wildfire season, the state of California began requiring companies to provide N95 masks to workers when air quality is poor. Because of that, most major tech firms in California began stockpiling N95 or similar masks in storage.
It isn't clear whether Apple actually had 9 million masks in its stockpile, though the number seems high when compared to Facebook's donation of 750,000 masks from its own emergency reserve, as CNBC reported. More likely is that Apple added its emergency stockpile to additional masks sourced from its supply chain.
Along with the announcement, Cook encouraged viewers to stay home whenever possible and practice social distancing when out and about. He also thanked various essential workers, from those in healthcare to warehouse staffers.
Apple has previously promised to help in the global fight against COVID-19, pledging unspecified donations to "groups on the ground" in various countries as early as January. On March 14, the company had pledged $15 million to COVID-19 response efforts in the U.S. and internationally, and promised to match employee donations on a two-to-one basis.
Apple CEO Tim Cook, who is currently working from home, said that Apple is donating 10 million masks in the U.S. and will donate "millions more" to European regions.
The announcement comes a day after U.S. Vice President Mike Pence said that Apple was making a donation of 9 million N95 masks.
In a video posted to Twitter Wednesday, Cook clarified that Apple has, in fact, been able to secure 10 million masks for the U.S. He added that Apple's operations teams are coordinating with world governments to find and purchase masks from the company's supply chain.
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)
Cook in a tweet Saturday said Apple was donating "millions" of masks to health professionals on the frontlines of the coronavirus outbreak.
In 2019, after a particularly bad wildfire season, the state of California began requiring companies to provide N95 masks to workers when air quality is poor. Because of that, most major tech firms in California began stockpiling N95 or similar masks in storage.
It isn't clear whether Apple actually had 9 million masks in its stockpile, though the number seems high when compared to Facebook's donation of 750,000 masks from its own emergency reserve, as CNBC reported. More likely is that Apple added its emergency stockpile to additional masks sourced from its supply chain.
Along with the announcement, Cook encouraged viewers to stay home whenever possible and practice social distancing when out and about. He also thanked various essential workers, from those in healthcare to warehouse staffers.
Apple has previously promised to help in the global fight against COVID-19, pledging unspecified donations to "groups on the ground" in various countries as early as January. On March 14, the company had pledged $15 million to COVID-19 response efforts in the U.S. and internationally, and promised to match employee donations on a two-to-one basis.
Comments
I agree governments do need to lead. Unfortunately, leadership has been lacking. President Trump has at best gave mixed messages, expressing hunches rather than passing on the facts from the professionals. The CDC was on top of expressing the severity, but they bungled the testing and preparedness.
The CDC seems to be saying preparing for epidemics wasn’t their job. After SARS, MERS, the Zika virus, and swine flu... I figured it was somebody’s job (CDC) but apparently not. Not having a stockpile of the basics (masks & gloves) is criminal, especially considering the U.S no longer makes everything needed.
It’s good that Apple is stepping up, but the fact they need to is telling...
For front line workers for immediate protection and everybody else further down the line getting equipment 'now' is the number one priority. Any company that can use its logistics infrastructure to help out is welcome.
Spain has 500 million masks on order. Almost a thousand ventilators and other equipment.
Private companies are doing their thing too. Textile factories have switched to sewing gowns for hospital use etc.
Tech companies are providing technology from their specialist fields. Cloud based AI hardware is being used to process lung scans using AI vision etc.
Some stuff is questioned by certain groups. For example using drones to enforce curfews and check people out on the street but the situation is exceptional and that must be taken into consideration.
To draw a positive out of the negative, things could have been far worse and we should be far better prepared for the next pandemic (and hopefully before it reaches that stage).
That power far outstrips anything Apple can do.
The Spanish government is on the verge of doing such a thing with regards to medicines. The first step has been to oblige its national pharmaceutical manufacturers to guarantee stocks of 103 medicines considered to be vital.