Apple CEO Tim Cook has said he’s ‘optimistic’ China is getting coronavirus under control and has pointed to the company ramping up iPhone production as proof.
A total of 2,744 people have died in the country out of 78,497 Coronavirus cases but on Monday the number of newly infected people outside the Hubei Province – where COVID-19 originated – was down to just nine.
It was a dramatic drop compared to 900 new cases reported February 3 and Cook used the figures as reference during an appearance in Alabama Thursday.
‘It feels to me that China is getting the coronavirus under control,’ Cook told Fox Business. ‘You look at the numbers, they’re coming down day by day by day. And so I’m very optimistic there.’
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Tim Cook said Thursday: ‘It feels to me that China is getting the coronavirus under control. You look at the numbers, they’re coming down day by day by day. And so I’m very optimistic there’
He said factories are reopening and employees are working through COVID-19. Workers are seen inside a Foxconn factory in the township of Longhua in the southern Guangdong province May 26, 2010
Most of Apple’s iPhones and other devices are made in China.
Cook told analysts in January the company’s supply chain was being affected by the outbreak.
Mr Cook said the company was seeking ways to minimize supply disruptions despite some of its suppliers being in Hubei.
Thursday he highlighted the fact that Apple get parts from ‘everywhere in the world’.
‘On the supplier side, we have suppliers — you know, iPhone is built everywhere in the world,’ Cook explained to Fox Business’ Susan Li. ‘We have key components coming from the United States, we have key parts that are in China, and so on and so forth.
‘When you look at the parts that are done in China, we have reopened factories, so the factories were able to work through the conditions to open, they’re reopening.’
iPhone production slowed as Apple closed factories amid the outbreak but Cook explained to Fox Business’ Susan Li: ‘iPhone is built everywhere in the world’
Chinese factories were forced to shut down for several weeks after COVID-19 spread. it originated in Wuhan in the Hubei province
Factories, businesses and shops across mainland China that manufacture iPhone parts remain closed to prevent the spread of the infection.
Chinese factories were forced to shut down for several weeks after COVID-19 spread.
Apple previously said work is starting to resume around the country, ‘but we are experiencing a slower return to normal conditions than we had anticipated’.
California-based Apple relies heavily on China for its grand-scale product consumption in addition to product production. And last week the tech giant sounded the alarm to investors that it doesn’t think it will meet its second quarter financial guidance largely because the coronavirus outbreak in China majorly cut iPhone production.
They also said the demand for iPhones is down in the country after they were forced to close or cut the hours at their 42 Chinese retail stores.
‘The health and well-being of every person who helps make these products possible is our paramount priority, and we are working in close consultation with our suppliers and public health experts as this ramp continues,’ Apple said in a statement.
Apple was expected to launch a new iPhone March 31 – costing half the price of the usual fresh releases.
Last week the tech giant sounded the alarm to investors that it doesn’t think it will meet its second quarter financial guidance largely because the coronavirus outbreak in China majorly cut iPhone production. Pictured is the market summary on Thursday
Cook was in Birmingham to launch the Education Farm as part of Apple’s ConnectEd education program
But Cook added about Apple Thursday: ‘They’re also en-ramp. So I think of this as sort of the third phase in getting back to normal, and we’re in phase three of the ramp mode.’
This week an inside source told Reuters ‘there is no face-to-face work being done’.
If Chinese factories were instead to remain idle through May 1, it would likely cripple retailers’ crucial back-to-school and fall seasons, experts predicted, adding that factories would need to start ramping up production by March 15 in order to meet deadlines for summer goods.
Cook was in Birmingham to launch the Education Farm as part of Apple’s ConnectEd education program.
‘Coding lets students of all ages breathe life into new ideas, solve problems and prepare for the jobs of the future, Cook tweeted.
‘Honored to join Birmingham’s students, teachers and visionary leaders in opening Ed Farm — a new education hub where students can connect, learn and create!’