U.S. private sector ramps up to respond to COVID-19

As U.S. scientists work to make faster and more effective tests for COVID-19, private U.S. companies are coordinating with the U.S. government to safely reach greater numbers of citizens. Pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly is offering drive-thru testing to Indianapolis-area health care workers who may have been exposed to the virus. Similarly, retail corporation Walmart opened two federal sites in its Chicago-area stores’ parking lots to serve first responders and health care workers. CVS Health Corp. has done the same in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts.

3月23日，礼来制药公司员工在印第安纳波利斯开始新冠病毒直通车测试。 Michael Conroy

As medical staff care for patients across the country, the need for protective N95 disposable respirators is skyrocketing. In response, the manufacturing giant Honeywell is ramping up its production of N95 masks by hiring 500 new employees at its Smithfield, Rhode Island, facility. The company is also increasing production at multiple facilities globally.

To further help hospitals, several U.S. companies are gearing up to produce ventilators in factories that are equipped to do so. Carmaker Tesla’s chief executive, Elon Musk, is exploring options to manufacture the equipment in partnership with medical equipment facilities. In the meantime, he purchased 1,255 FDA-approved ventilators to be distributed throughout the country.

特朗普总统（Trump）3月22日说（英文），“私营行业大量涌现的努力是非凡的。我们国家正在经受一个巨大考验，我们将证明我们能够经受住这一时刻”。

在美国科学家努力采用更快和更有效的新冠病毒病测试方法的同时，美国私人公司正在与美国政府协调，让更多公民得到测试。礼来制药公司（Eli Lilly）向印第安纳波利斯(Indianapolis)地区可能接触到病毒的医护人员提供直通车方式的测试。零售商沃尔玛（Walmart）也将它在芝加哥（Chicago）地区的两个停车场作为联邦测试站，为一线急救人员和医务工作者提供测试。西维斯健康公司（CVS Health Corp）也在马萨诸萨州施鲁斯伯里（Shrewsbury, Massachusetts）采用了同样做法。

“The outpouring from the private sector has also been extraordinary,” said President Trump on March 22. “We’re enduring a great national trial, and we will prove that we can meet the moment.”

Other companies, like clothing manufacturer HanesBrands Inc., are halting their general apparel production to create Food and Drug Administration–approved cotton masks for the general public to wear as a protective measure.

Another small business from Minnesota, MyPillow, is shifting production from pillows to cotton masks for hospitals across the country and dedicating 90% of their staff to the effort.

微软公司（Microsoft）在协助疾病控制与预防中心（Centers for Disease Control and Prevention）开发诊断机器人，减少人们不必要地前往医生诊所就诊。感到不适的人可以通过输入自己的症状，来确定这些症状是否符合新冠病毒病征兆以及是否需要就医。

For university students who had to leave their campuses in a rush, shipping and storage services company U-Haul announced it will give 30 days of free self-storage at its facilities.

随着全国越来越多患者需要医护，对N95一次性防护呼吸器的需求激增。制造业巨头霍尼韦尔公司（Honeywell）在罗得岛州史密斯菲尔德（Smithfield, Rhode Island）的设施新聘500名雇员，加大生产量，同时也在全球多个设施扩大生产。

为进一步援助医院，数家美国公司在有能力的生产设施中加速生产呼吸机。特斯拉（Tesla）汽车制造公司总裁埃隆·马斯克（Elon Musk）正在与医疗设备生产设施联手，探索呼吸机生产方案。与此同时，他购置了1255台得到食品和药品管理局批准的呼吸机，送往全国各地。

除经常洗手外，预防新冠病毒病的一个方法是使用消毒搓手液。美国一些酿酒厂开始批量生产酒精搓手液，满足地方社区的需求。

一些较小型企业也加入了这一努力。康涅狄格州（Connecticut）的利奇菲尔德酿造公司（Litchfield Distillery）表示，自3月16日以来，它已经生产大约1900公升消毒搓手液，并且为附近居民装瓶16000多个。

利奇菲尔德酿造公司的业主之一戴维·贝克给消毒搓手液装瓶。(© Litchfield Distillery)

Photo: Eli Lilly employees prepare to start drive-thru testing for COVID-19 in Indianapolis on March 23. (© Michael Conroy/AP Images)

The U.S. tech sector is responding to the needs of distancing and distance learning, as more and more schools are teaching courses online. To prevent unnecessary trips to the doctor, Microsoft is helping the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention create a symptoms-checking bot. Patients plug in their symptoms to determine whether the symptoms match COVID-19 and if they need medical care.

酒厂业主杰克、彼得和戴维·贝克（Jack, Peter and David Baker）表示，“这对我们犹如突如其来的旋风。但是我们对在这个时候能够给人们带来帮助感到高兴”。

其他一些公司，如哈尼斯品牌服装公司（HanesBrands Inc.），停止自己的普通服装生产，转向制作经食品和药品管理局（Food and Drug Administration）批准的棉布口罩，供一般民众防护使用。

小型体育运动服装公司AST Sportswear正在全力投入生产棉布口罩，满足加利福尼亚州奥兰奇县（Orange County, California）地方医院的需求。公司销售经历纳迪尔·佐勒菲卡尔（Nadir Zulfiqar）在地方电视台的新闻节目中说，“实际上我们专门添置了30台机器生产口罩。我们的雇员全在上班，我们尽量不解雇任何人”。现在这家公司有大约500名员工倒班缝制口罩——相互间保持1.8米距离。

Photo: A Litchfield Distillery co-owner, David Baker, fills spray bottles with hand sanitizer. (© Litchfield Distillery)

有3万多名员工的美国啤酒商安海斯-布希公司(Anheuser-Busch)宣布，它将开始调整生产，面向全国各地制作和投放瓶装消毒搓手液。

To help parents and educators teach their children from home, Google launched Teach from Home, “a tools & resources hub to help teachers continue teaching during school closures,” its chief executive, Sundar Pichai, announced on Twitter. And internet provider Comcast is opening its Xfinity Wi-Fi network for free across the nation for the next 60 days.

In addition to washing hands regularly, use of hand sanitizer can slow the spread of COVID-19. A number of U.S. alcohol distilleries have begun producing batches of hand sanitizer to meet the increased demands of local communities.

The U.S. private sector is facing the challenge posed by the COVID-19 virus head-on.

美国技术行业正在努力满足因越来越多的学校转为网上教学而带来的远程学习需要。为帮助家长和教育工作者在家中给孩子上课，谷歌公司（Google）首席执行官桑达·皮采(Sundar Pichai)在推特上宣布（英文），谷歌推出“居家教学”（Teach from Home）——“一个帮助教师在学校关门期间继续教课的工具和资源中心”。互联网供应商Comcast将其Xfinity Wi-Fi网服务向全国各地免费提供60天。

Anheuser-Busch, an American brewery that employs over 30,000 workers, announced that it will begin to redirect its efforts to producing and distributing bottles of hand sanitizer across the U.S.

Even smaller operations are joining the effort. A representative from Litchfield Distillery in Connecticut said that since March 16, it has produced roughly 1,900 liters of hand sanitizer and bottled over 16,000 bottles for nearby residents.

从事货运和物品存放业务的U-Haul公司宣布，将为不得不仓促离开校园的大学生提供30天免费物品存放。

“It’s been a whirlwind for us,” said the distillery owners, Jack, Peter and David Baker. “But we’re happy to be able to help people during this time.”

另外一家明尼苏达州的小公司MyPillow，从生产枕头转为生产口罩，支援全国各地医院，公司90%的员工都在参与生产。

To meet the demands of local hospitals in Orange County, California, a small business, AST Sportswear, is dedicating its efforts to producing cotton masks. “We actually ordered 30 more machines just to make these masks. Our workers are all here, we’re trying to not lay anybody off,” Nadir Zulfiqar, sales manager, told a local television news program. About 500 employees there now work different shifts — spaced 1.8 meters apart — sewing face masks.

In the meantime, Apple’s chief executive, Tim Cook, announced that the company will donate millions of N95 masks for health professionals across the U.S. and Europe to help with more immediate needs.

与此同时，苹果公司（Apple）首席执行官蒂姆·库克（Tim Cook）宣布（英文），苹果公司将向美国和欧洲医护人员捐赠数百万个N95口罩，帮助满足当前需求。