With a lot of tech companies taking a hit to their operations due to the coronavirus outbreak, Apple has issued a statement explaining their response to it. They are taking steps to ensure credibility of Health & Safety Information in their App, closing all retail stores outside of China and more.
In an attempt to prevent the spread of mis-information, Apple will be evaluating every app submitted to the App Store that is related to the outbreak. They will only allow those apps whose developers are from recognised entities such as government organisations, health-focused NGOs, companies deeply credentialed in health issues, and medical or educational institutions.
With regards to its stores, Apple has reopened their stores in Greater China as the rate of infections has declined there over the last few days. However Apple did announce that they will be closing all stores outside of Greater China till March 27th. Apple also recently announced that they will be conducting their annual WWDC in an online format this year.
Apple is also donating money as part of its COVID-19 response, currently amounting to nearly $15 million. They will also be matching their employee donations two-to-one to support COVID-19 response efforts locally, nationally and internationally.
Apple has been affected a significant amount by the spread of the virus in China with many supply chains severely hit. There have been multiple reports of Apple’s iPhone production slowing down, especially its upcoming iPhone SE 2. China has begun reopening its industries but it is doing at an extremely slow rate.