U.S. Vice President Mike Pence who is also chairing the White House Coronavirus Task Force, announced on Tuesday, at a press briefing that Apple will be donating nine million N95 masks to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.
Major tech companies are working on helping world governments in their own ways to improve the world health situation. If Apple does deliver the amount of masks Pence reported, it will be one of the largest aids from a tech company.
US Government & Apple
“And I spoke today, and the president spoke last week, with Tim Cook of Apple,” said Pence. “And at this moment in time Apple went to their store houses and is donating 9 million N95 masks to healthcare facilities all across the country and to the national stockpile.”
There is a growing need for protective gear as the stocks tumble. The need is not just in the US but almost across the whole world. The only country that appears to be getting back on its feet is China which is also considered as the place of “origin” of the virus.
“Our teams at Apple have been working to help source supplies for healthcare providers fighting COVID-19,” Cook’s tweet reads. “We’re donating millions of masks for health professionals in the US and Europe. To every one of the heroes on the front lines, we thank you.”
Apple CEO Tim Cook first disclosed the company’s efforts to help combat the deadly virus in January. He had revealed that the company had made donations to several groups on the ground. Also, the company had announced in early March that its donations had crossed $15 million.
Other tech titans like Google are working on providing online help and support to people. Similarly, to not strain the network providers, Netflix and other major streaming platforms are working on reducing the standard quality of the stream.
