Apple joins coronavirus fight by designing new face shields for health workers globally

Apple has joined the fight against coronavirus by redirecting its product designers and engineers to design and produce face shields for health workers.

Apple CEO Tim Cook shared a video message and showed off the face shield which can be assembled in less than two minutes.

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

The first shipment has already been delivered to Kaiser Hospital in the Santa Clara Valley last week with millions more to come to the US and other parts of the world where they are urgently needed.

Apple has also sourced more than 20 million face masks through its supply chain.

Here is the full transcript of Apple CEO Tim Cook’s video message:

In these challenging and difficult times we hope you’re staying 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 20,000,000 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 100 to a box – each shield 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 a million per week after that. We are closely co-ordinating with medical professionals and government officials across the US to get these to where they 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 to circumstances require for Apple.

This is a Labour of love and gratitude and 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 your doing to help in your own lives. Thank you again to those on the front lines of this fight. Stay safe and stay healthy.”