Japan Gives 2000 iPhones to Passengers on Diamond Princess Cruise Ship

The Japanese Ministry of Health hasreportedly given 2000 iPhones to passengersstuck on Diamond Princess, a cruise ship quarantined near Japan past week due to the recentcoronavirusoutbreak.

As per Macotakara’s report, the Japanese government has made sure that there will be at least one unit of iPhone in every passenger cabin and crew rooms. Before you jump into assumptions, do note that this move isto ensure the health condition of the people onboard.

TheiPhones are sourced from SoftBankso that passengers will get access to the Japanese Ministry of Health app using which they can book a consultation session and communicate with doctors regarding their health conditions.

The Japanese government took this initiative because theirhealth app is region-restrictedand hence, the app requires a phone registered in Japan to work. Apparently, there is a significant number of people without a Japan-registered phone on the ship.

In case you’re unaware,over 130 people on the ship are confirmed to have coronavirusso far and the numbers are on the rise. Once the situation gets under control, it is likely that the passengers will have to return the phones. We’ll have to wait to see the government’s decision on that matter.

The coronavirus outbreak has taken a huge toll on global businesses and the tech industry hasn’t been spared either, with the GSMA recentlycalling offthe biggest mobile tech show of the year, Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2020. Chinese smartphone giantHuawei’s sales are expected to drop20 percent according to research analysts, whileiPhone shipments could go downby 10 percent.

Subin B

Subin writes about consumer tech, software, and security. He secretly misses the headphone jack while pretending he’s better off with the wireless freedom.

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