How big business is joining the fight against COVID-19

• There are now over 200,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus worldwide.
• From Alibaba to Amazon, big names in the world of business are helping in the fight against COVID-19.
• Some are sending medical help, others are donating cash.

As the number of confirmed COVID-19 coronavirus cases continues to rise, exceeding 200,000 on 18 March, something else is starting to happen around the world – entrepreneurs, businesses and multimillionaire philanthropists are pledging their support.

Some are augmenting the work of public bodies, while others are filling gaps that might otherwise have been left unfilled. Here is a round-up of some of the activities and initiatives undertaken by private-sector organizations that are helping to combat the coronavirus.

Alibaba

So far, African countries have recorded very low rates of coronavirus infection – just 315, as of 18 March. But Jack Ma, the billionaire founder of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, is taking no chances; through his foundation, he is donating 1.1 million testing kits, 6 million masks, and 60,000 protective suits and face shields. They are all being sent to Ethiopia first, from where they will be sent out to every other country on the African continent.

“As members of the global community, it will be irresponsible of us to sit on the fence, panic, ignore facts or fail to act. We need to take action now,” he said.

This isn’t the first time during the crisis that China has sent help to other parts of the world. Earlier in the month, the Chinese Red Cross sent a team of nine medical staff and 30 tonnes of equipment, including masks and respirators, to Italy.

US companies

Some of the biggest US tech firms have also stepped up in the effort to cope with coronavirus. Amazon has said it will donate $5 million to local businesses based near its Seattle headquarters that will likely lose out on sales now that the tech giant’s thousands of staff are working from home.

Together with Microsoft, Amazon is also one of the co-creators of the COVID-19 Response Fund, targeting hard-hit Washington State. They, and other businesses such as Alaska Airlines and the Starbucks Foundation, have donated $2.5 million so far. Microsoft President Brad Smith said: “As large corporations, we can take this step and should. But not all businesses will be able to do so. As our community focuses on public health needs during the COVID-19 outbreak, it’s important that we also rally together to address the unmet economic needs developing around us.”

The two tech giants have also said they will continue to pay the wages of workers employed to deliver services to their office campuses – people who cannot work from home and might therefore lose out financially.

Facebook has said it will donate $20 million to support coronavirus relief efforts, while Apple is committing $15 million.

Roche

Swiss pharmaceutical giant Roche has started shipping coronavirus tests to the US and plans to get at least 400,000 out every week. Its fully automated tests are capable of delivering up to 960 sets of results every eight hours using one of its powerful analysis machines.

The test kits are destined for around 30 labs that have a broad geographic reach and high patient impact. “We do have to prioritize testing because there is simply not enough capacity for broad-based testing,” Roche CEO Severin Schwan said in an interview with Bloomberg.

Rolls-Royce

In the UK, the government has turned to some of the country's biggest industrial names, including Rolls Royce and the electronics manufacturer Dyson. They are being called upon to start producing life-saving ventilators. On 16 March, the UK's health secretary, Matt Hancock, even issued an appeal via Twitter: "Calling all manufacturers who can support our National Effort for #coronavirus ventilator production - to help, contact Government Business Support team."

LVMH

French luxury powerhouse LVMH, which owns Louis Vuitton, Bulgari, TAG Heuer, Tiffany, Dom Pérignon and many other high-end brands, has now ventured into the hand-sanitizer sector. Factories that usually produce perfume and make-up for brands like Christian Dior and Givenchy are being pressed into service to fight COVID-19.

“LVMH will use the production lines of its perfume and cosmetic brands... to produce large quantities of hydroalcoholic gels,” the company said in a statement.

Source: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/03/big-business-joining-fight-against-coronavirus/