Tech behemoth Apple has donated more than 30 million face masks and 10 million face shields to healthcare workers around the world during the pandemic, MailOnline understands.
Exact breakdowns of where the PPE has been distributed remains unknown but it is believed frontline workers globally received items throughout 2020.
The endeavour started in March and CEO Tim Cook announced on April 5 that Apple’s vast resources and expertise would be repurposed to churn out one million masks a week. This target, set 36 weeks ago, has been exceeded by the company.
Apple has also donated $5 million to various coronavirus-related causes this festive period, it revealed today.
Tech behemoth Apple has donated more than 30 million face masks and 10million face shields to healthcare workers around the world during the pandemic, MailOnline understands
In a video posted on Twitter at the start of the pandemic, Mr Cook said the first shipment had already been sent to Kaiser hospital facilities in Santa Clara, California.
At this point in the pandemic, chronic shortages of protective equipment were emerging in much of the world, including the US and the UK.
There were reports of nurses and doctors being forced to reuse their PPE and also make their own, including out of bin bags.
Healthcare workers suffered greatly as a result, due to their high exposure to the coronavirus and improper protection.
A CDC report published in October revealed that between March and May in the US, six per cent of all patients in hospitals were clinicians.
More than a quarter of these individuals were admitted to intensive care and more than four per cent died during their hospital stay.
Apple focused its initial distribution to the hardest-hit areas and then branched out internationally.
‘For Apple, this is a labour of love and gratitude and we will follow more of our efforts over time’ Mr Cook said in his video.
In March, Apple initially said it was going to donate nine million N95 protective masks to help protect medical staff from contracting the coronavirus. By April, this had more than doubled to 20 million.
However, the US became the world’s coronavirus epicentre with more than 16million confirmed cases and more than 300,000 deaths at the time of writing and consequently production was increased and the current figure exceeds 40million.
While Apple has released a host of new tech since its April announcement, including the new iPhone 12, its staff have also chipped in with the coronavirus effort.
In March, Apple initially said it was going to donate nine million N95 protective masks to help protect medical staff from contracting the coronavirus . By April, this had more than doubled to 20 million and the current figure is more than 40million
Pictured, workers at a warehouse in Zambia unload shipments of Apple PPE. Apple did not disclose an exact breakdown of where the PPE was sent during the pandemic but says it was shipped globally
Via the so-called ‘Apple Giving’ initiative Apple employees have raised more than $600,000 since 2011 and, in 2020, have volunteered their time and expertise.
As part of the programme, Apple matches every hour an employee volunteers or dollar they donate to charity.
Deirdre O’Brien, Apple’s senior vice president of Retail and People, said: ‘Apple is deeply committed to leaving the world better than we found it.
‘It has been amazing to see that many of our team members around the world, from retail teams to engineers and designers, have responded to this moment of challenge by giving their time and resources toward causes that help their neighbors and communities.’
In the UK, Apple employees took part in the the British Red Cross’s Miles for Refugees event where participants band together and aim to raise as much money as possible by undertaking physical challenges.
Apple volunteers made up the largest corporate team participating in 2020, the company says.
‘This year’s event went on to raise over £2 million, and we couldn’t have done it without the support of so many Apple volunteers who took part,’ says Maddy Janes, mass participation event manager for the British Red Cross.
THE TRILLION DOLLAR RISE OF APPLE
The company’s journey to the summit of the technology industry has been a rocky one, having seen Jobs (pictured right in 1976) leave the firm in the mid-1980s after his pet project, the first Macintosh computer, struggled and he attempted to oust then chief executive John Sculley. Wozniak is pictured left
1976: Founders Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne created the company on April 1 1976 as they set about selling computer kits to hobbyists, each of which was built by Wozniak.
The first product was the Apple I.
1977: Apple released the Apple II in June, which was the first PC made for the mass market.
1981: Jobs became chairman.
1984: The Macintosh was introduced during an ad break for the Super Bowl and later officially unveiled during a launch event. It was discontinued a year later and Jobs left the firm.
1987: Apple released the Macintosh II, the first colour Mac.
1997: Apple announces it will acquire NeXT software in a $400 million deal that involves Jobs returning to Apple as interim CEO. He officially took the role in 2000.
2001: Apple introduced iTunes, OS X and the first-generation iPod.
The first iPod MP3 music player was released on October 23, 2001, at an event in Cupertino and was able to hold up to 1,000 songs.
Steve Jobs unveils Apple Computer Corporation’s new Macintosh February 6, 1984 in California.
The then Chief Executive Officer of Apple, Steve Jobs, with the iPhone
2007: Apple unveils the iPhone.
2010: The first iPad was unveiled.
2011: Jobs resigned in 2011 due to illness, handing the CEO title to Tim Cook. Job died in October from pancreatic cancer.
2014: Apple unveiled the Apple Watch. It also unveiled its first larger iPhones – the 6 and 6 Plus.
2015: After purchasing Beats from Dr Dre, Apple launched Apple Music to compete with Spotify and other music streaming services.
Apple CEO Steve Jobs speaks at an Apple event at Apple headquarters in Cupertino, Calif.
2016: Apple returned to its roots and announced the 4-inch iPhone SE. Meanwhile, the firm is embroiled in a legal battle with the FBI, involving the agency demanding access to the locked phone used by Syed Farook, who died in a shootout after carrying out a deadly December attack in San Bernardino, California with his wife. The court order was dropped on March 28 after the FBI said a third party was able to unlock the device.
2017: Apple introduces the iPhone X, which removes the home button to make way for a futuristic edge-to-edge screen design and a new FaceID system that uses advanced sensors and lasers to unlock phones with just the owner’s face.
2018: In a first for the company, Apple introduces new features in its latest operating system, iOS 12, that encourage users to manage and spend less time on their devices. The move was spawned by a strongly worded letter from shareholders that urged the firm to address the growing problem of smartphone addiction among kids and teenagers.
2019: In January, Apple reports its first decline in revenues and profits in a decade. CEO Tim Cook partly blamed steep declines in revenue from China.
2020: In March, Apple closes all its bricks and mortar retail stores outside of China in response to coronavirus.
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