‘We appreciate the strong support of the Minister of Health, Dr Zweli Mkhize and his team who assisted with the rapid testing kits donation process. It is through these types of public-private partnerships and the resilient spirit of South Africans, that we as a country will overcome’ said Sung Yoon, President & CEO of Samsung Africa.

In normal circumstances on Mandela Day, the Samsung team would have been out contributing through the employee volunteer program, building houses and fixing schools. This year due to COVID-19 the company is supporting differently. South Africa is still at a critical stage of dealing with the pandemic and it is crucial to curb the spread of the virus.

In response, Samsung is proud to donate rapid testing kits to the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC). “This donation from Samsung will enable the evaluation of a rapid PCR test that can deliver a result in less than an hour in the field” says Prof Glenda Gray, President and CEO of the SAMRC.

The SAMRC is leading the field evaluation of various diagnostic strategies to better understand the epidemic in South Africa. The rapid testing kits are an essential part of the strategy to roll out testing and get results in real-time. Testing is a critical tool for the diagnosis, management and containment of the epidemic.

‘Samsung is committed to South Africa and we are fortunate as a company to be able to leverage the power of our innovative technology to respond to the core pillars designed to curb the spread of COVID-19. Our contribution of these innovative tests, supplements the support we have provided in collaboration with our network partners to equip the brave, frontline responders with smartphones, tablets and communication technologies. It is to them we owe our thanks’ continued Sung Yoon.

As COVID-19 continues to spread across the globe, our thoughts are with each and every one of you. We know this situation has affected each of you differently and that COVID-19 will have a lasting impact on our society. Despite this challenging time, we also see hope in our resilience. We are demonstrating how, as a global community, we can come together – regardless of location or circumstance – to address what may be one of the most important challenges of our lifetimes.

In navigating these uncertain times, Samsung has an important role to look after our employees, support our customers, and aid our communities. We are dedicating resources to help those in need and help us, as a society, emerge stronger on the other side.

Supporting Our Global Workforce

We have established regional response teams around the world to provide our employees with resources and updates on the latest guidelines from health authorities. We have restricted business travel to only mission-critical journeys and have strongly advised employees to work from home where possible. Additionally, we have closed some of our facilities and stores to support social distancing efforts, where necessary.

In offices and facilities that are critical to providing users with the products and services they need, we have mandated health screenings and temperature checks prior to entry and have implemented regular deep cleaning. Across the world, we are considering ways to help our employees and their families that have been impacted by this pandemic.

We will continue to do everything we can to protect our people, who have been the core of our business.

Serving Our Valued Customers and Partners

The relationships that we have built with our customers and partners over the past 50 years are of paramount importance to us.

As our daily lives shift to working and learning from home, we are here to support you and your family with products and services that enable you to keep life moving and connected to those you love. We are here to support you online at Samsung.com with round-the-clock customer care. For customers whose manufacturer warranty expires while our services are unavailable due to restrictions caused by COVID-19, we are offering a one-month extension from the date repair services become available again*.

Giving Back to Our Communities

Since January, Samsung has donated USD 29 million worth of funds and goods to governments and communities that have been most affected by COVID-19 to help with their relief efforts, including the purchase of medical supplies and hygiene kits, such as face masks. We are donating smartphones to patients in quarantine to help them keep in touch with their families and friends, as well as air purifiers and other appliances to hospitals and quarantine centers. We are also donating tablets to educational institutions so that children can continue to learn outside of the classroom, and are making our CSR education modules available online so that children have access to more enriching content at home.

In Korea, among the first countries hit, we provided local authorities a company facility to operate as a care center for patients to assist with the country’s containment efforts. Also, our engineering teams are working with companies in Korea that produce face masks to help them boost production by improving factory layouts and manufacturing processes, and in some cases, are creating molds for mask production. Because of our efforts, one of the companies was able to more than double its daily production.

We will continue to use our technology and resources to address the urgent needs of those working to combat the threat and impact of COVID-19. This is based on one unwavering principle that has guided us through our history: to create technology that contributes to a better global society.

Now, more than ever, we must band together to not only overcome this challenge, but emerge stronger, together. This is a challenging time for us all and we will continue to share updates with you as the situation evolves. For now, we sincerely thank every one of our employees for all they are doing, and, in particular, for the support they are providing to each other, to our partners and to our customers.

To our customers, partners, and communities, we are grateful for your loyal support, and we promise to stand strong with you as we all look ahead to a promising future.

From all of us at Samsung, we wish you, your families, and your friends stay strong and in good health.

* More details will be shared on Samsung.com

“What we face is a generation-defining moment, a challenge unlike any other. However, our belief in Africa and its people remains steadfast and strong. I know, working together, we can and we will rise to this challenge,” said CEO & President of Samsung Africa, Sung Yoon.

Tracking is an important part of fighting the spread of the virus as the cases in South Africa increase the more people need to be located and tested. Trackers will have to travel around the country to find primary and secondary contacts and get testing to those people. Many countries around the world have moved to using surveillance technology to get ahead of the virus. However, South Africa does not have the luxury of such technology as most of our people still do not carry smartphones.

“As we venture into uncharted waters, we need to heed the call of our President in working through this together, while apart. It is up to each one of us to do what we can to flatten the curve and reduce the possible impact of this virus particularly for those who rely on the public health system” said Serame Taukobong CEO, Telkom Consumer.