SpaceX became the latest company to create and donate supplies such as face masks and hand sanitizers to help hospitals fight the coronavirus, formally known as COVID-19.
An internal memo sent to SpaceX employees via email this past weekend announced the company’s new initiative to make and donate these much-needed supplies to health care workers and medical facilities, according to CNBC.
SpaceX reportedly already made and donated 75 face masks and 100 protective suits to Cedars Sinai hospital, which is located in California near the company’s headquarters.
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk announced last week on Twitter that his other company, Tesla, plans to build ventilators for American medical facilities. Musk further confirmed on Twitter on Wednesday that Tesla will soon start the production of ventilators at its gigafactory in Buffalo, New York.
Giga New York will reopen for ventilator production as soon as humanly possible. We will do anything in our power to help the citizens of New York.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 25, 2020
Hospitals across the country are facing a shortage of essential supplies like face masks, ventilators, goggles, and more as the number of coronavirus cases skyrockets.
Other companies have stepped in to offer similar services to provide healthcare workers and hospitals the supplies and devices they need to treat coronavirus patients properly. HP set up a dedicated website for healthcare workers to find a 3D printing partner to make devices like field respirators, face shields, mask adjusters, and more.
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles swapped making cars for face masks at its factories and Ford announced earlier this week it would work with 3M and GE Healthcare to create respirators and ventilators.
The World Health Organization officially declared the coronavirus a pandemic earlier this month. As of Wednesday, March 25, more than 458,900 confirmed cases of the coronavirus have been reported worldwide and over 20,800 deaths have been confirmed, according to an online dashboard that tracks global cases.
