Nintendo of America made an effort to help fight the pandemic in Washington state with a charitable donation. The company has given the Eastside Fire & Rescue fire department in Northwest Issaquah, Washington 9,500 N95 masks. This services part of King County, which is one of the areas that has been hit hard by the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. [Editor’s Note: The original press release mistakenly said 95,000 masks were donated.]
The Nintendo of America donation involved N95 Particulate Respirator masks. Nintendo’s Jerry Danson made the donation to Eastside Fire & Rescue, explaining the company had the masks stored for “emergency preparedness planning.” The masks can be used by first responders, like EMTs and firepeople, to protect them while working with people who may have coronavirus. In addition, some of these masks will be given to other emergency services, with North Bend identified as one of the towns which will get some of these specific masks.
This is one of many responses by Nintendo of America to the pandemic. Back in the beginning of March 2020, the company announced it would have employees from its Redmond, Washington office work from home. (This came alongside a King County government recommendation that people in the area work from home.)
All of the Nintendo North American repair service centers are also closed due to COVID-19. Warranties will be extended. Unfortunately, items already at the repair center won’t be returned until the centers reopen.
