Thousands of people in China contracted the Wuhan coronavirus, and several cities are been locked down in attempts to keep it from spreading during the Lunar New Year. Apple CEO Tim Cook promises his company will donate to relief efforts in China.
Cook took to Twitter to say, “Apple will be donating to groups on the ground helping support all of those affected.”
As people in China and around the world celebrate the Lunar New Year, we send our love and support to the many impacted by the Coronavirus. Apple will be donating to groups on the ground helping support all of those affected.
— Tim Cook (@tim_cook) January 25, 2020
Organizations in China are already experiencing shortages of face masks and protective suits as the coronavirus epidemic spreads. And virus-testing kits are also in short supply, according to CNBC.
Pitching in to help isn’t surprising — Apple has strong links to China. Not only are millions of iPhones, iPads and Macs purchased there every year, many Apple products are assembled in the country.
Apple’s unknown contribution to coronavirus relief efforts
Cook did not specify how much Apple will contribute to this cause. But in the past, the company donated $1 million to each of a range of disaster-relief efforts. That includes cleaning up after a hurricane in America and assisting tsunami victims in Indonesia. More recently, Apple’s CEO has continued to make promises to donate but stopped including specific amounts.
Doing so for past disasters has often touched off debates on whether the company should be doing more, while there are always other people arguing that Apple should never contribute to charity.
