Hyundai announced today that it is contributing $4 million in grants via its Hyundai Hope On Wheels program to fund COVID-19 drive-thru testing at 22 hospitals in the United States.
“As a global automaker, we continue to monitor the COVID-19 situation and its potential harm to the U.S. and beyond,” said José Muñoz, President and CEO of Hyundai Motor North America, in a press release. “A best practice that was crucial in South Korea’s handling of the coronavirus was drive-thru testing. This approach protects the healthcare workers and patients from the potential spread of the virus, while diagnosing those most in need.”
Image credit: Hyundai
A few weeks ago, the company pledged $2 million to fund testing at children’s hospitals in America. At that time, Munoz said, “Hyundai is a company committed to improving the well-being of society and the health of children. In the last few weeks, our society has been challenged with a major pandemic that has had significant consequences to life, safety and well-being. Children who are diagnosed with cancer are particularly at high risk. Through our Hyundai Hope On Wheels program, we are committed to being a strong partner on behalf of children’s health and assisting during this time.”
In addition to the funding, Hyundai is also providing 65,000 COVID-19 RT-PCR tests developed by Seegene, a South Korea-based global leader in multiplex molecular diagnostics. Seegene’s test can simultaneously detect three different genes (N, E and RdRP) of SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for COVID-19. Hyundai is the only automaker providing these critical testing capabilities to hospitals, especially in hard-hit cities like New Orleans, Chicago, and Detroit, according to its press release.
“The COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic has tragically impacted hundreds of thousands of lives with disease and millions more who are quarantined in the U.S.”, said Dr. Helen Cha Roberts, president of Seegene Technologies. “By supporting testing, Hyundai has stepped up as a global leader to provide an invaluable resource that will serve impacted Americans at this most critical time while also assisting to prevent further spread of the virus.”
Hyundai and its more than 825 dealers have also provided support to local institutions with financial assistance, food donations, face mask headband production, and loaned vehicles. Additional support has been provided to Hyundai owners and first responders through the company’s Hyundai Assurance program.
Kudos to Hyundai for being a leader on virus testing, a vital function that will be crucial to reopening the country without leaving the door open to a second (or third) wave of infection.
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