Foxconn has turned to the 'SARS hero' in its ongoing battle with coronavirus

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Tim Cook at Foxconn
Tim Cook at Foxconn (Image credit: Apple)

What you need to know

  • Foxconn is trying to return to normal following the coronavirus outbreak.
  • It's struggling to ramp up production in China.
  • Now it's turned to the "SARS hero" for help.

As Apple supplier Foxconn continues to battle back to full manufacturing capacity amidst the coronavirus outbreak, the company has turned to its very own "SARS hero" for help. Zhong Nanshan was given the name after he found the correct way to deal with SARS 17 years ago. And now Foxconn wants to bring that expertise to bear on coronavirus.

Given his history in dealing with respiratory issues similar to coronavirus, he was appointed head of China's National Health Commission's investigation into the current outbreak, according to CNBC. Now Foxconn has snapped him up, too.

Now Foxconn has tapped his expertise in respiratory diseases to serve as a consultant for the firm's prevention and rehabilitation efforts. In a statement on Tuesday, Foxconn said Zhong will give advice and guidance to the company.

Foxconn has been ramping production back up since its factories were allowed to re-open, but it's taking longer than had been expected. That's already been one of the factors behind Apple saying it won't meet the quarter's revenue guidance, with pressure no doubt being piled onto Foxconn.

"While our iPhone manufacturing partner sites are located outside the Hubei province — and while all of these facilities have reopened — they are ramping up more slowly than we had anticipated. 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. These iPhone supply shortages will temporarily affect revenues worldwide." Apple said during a statement.

Oliver Haslam
Oliver Haslam
Contributor

Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too. Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.