On Sunday, in a video uploaded via his twitter page, Apple’s CEO Tim Cook announced that the company will be producing 1 million facial shields for health workers every week. The move is coming a few days after doctors in the United States protested a shortage of personal protective equipment, like face shields and masks, leaving them with high risk of getting infected as they battle the virus.
Apple has brought together several product designers, engineers, operation managers and suppliers companywide to design, produce and ship the products to health facilities across the United States. Cook also mentioned that Apple has sourced more than 20 million masks through its global supply chain and is working with governments to donate them where they’re needed.
The first shipment has been delivered to Kaiser hospital facilities in the Santa Clara Valley this past week, and the feedback from doctors is very positive according to the CEO. Apple plans to ship more than one million shields by the end of this week and a further million each week after that. Efforts are also being made to expand distribution to more countries and health workers in other regions at the frontline of COVID-19.
Last month, Apple launched a rather basic tool for people in the US to check if they need to get tested for coronavirus. Big ups to the iPhone maker.
