Bill Gates in the past has made claims that we were ‘not ready’ for a pandemic of this sort and he was clearly very right. Now that we are facing the novel coronavirus pandemic, he is continuing to speak in regards and has some very interesting points.
In an interview with TED, not too long ago Gates noted that we as a whole need an extreme shutdown. This being one that lasts six to ten weeks. While he did make it clear that he understood that this kind of thing would be damaging to some areas from an economical standpoint he also went on the say that the sooner we did it the sooner we could fix the damage it may cause.
Gates says that here in the US we have missed our chance to avoid any real ‘stay at home’ orders because we did not react to the pandemic quickly enough and that we really need to put more effort into our testing. This something I agree with. It is much harder to get tested than it should be in some areas and this virus is sweeping the nation.
Regarding this interview CNBC reported as follows:
“The U.S. is past this opportunity to control (COVID-19) without shutdown,” Gates said during a TED Connects program broadcast online. “We did not act fast enough to have an ability to avoid the shutdown.”
“It’s January when everybody should’ve been on notice,” Gates added. The virus was first discovered in December in China.
Government officials across the country have advised or directed residents in the past days to stay home in a bid to slow the spread of the coronavirus that’s infected at least 46,500 people in the U.S. Many locations, including California, New York City and Washington, D.C., have ordered all nonessential businesses to temporarily close. As a result, unemployment claims are surging and markets are hitting multiyear lows.
President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he wants businesses to open by Easter, April 12, to soften the economic impact. Government officials and health experts have widely criticized these calls, warning that bringing people back to work will overwhelm the health-care system and lead to more deaths.
Gates acknowledged Tuesday that self-isolation will be “disastrous” for the economy, but “there really is no middle ground.” He suggested a shutdown of six to 10 weeks.
With things getting worse and more cases piling up, we need to as the public start taking things more seriously. If you’re still going out and living life as ‘normal’ you need to make some changes. While some people have no choice but to go to work, those who must leave their homes need to be more cautious and work to clean themselves properly throughout their days.
To hear gates talk about COVID-19 please check out the video below. While is interview is a bit long it is full of crucial points that need to be made clear. Please keep those struggling in your thoughts as this pandemic continues.