Bill Gates warned that the coronavirus could be a risk until 2022 and added that “sadly” bars and restaurants will have to close over the next “four to six months.”
“Sadly, the next four to six months could be the worst of the epidemic. The IHME forecast shows over 200,000 additional deaths. If we would follow the rules, in terms of wearing masks and not mixing, we could avoid a large percentage of those deaths,” Gates told CNN’s Jake Tapper on Sunday.
“Bars and restaurants—in most of the country—will be closed as we go into this wave, and I think, sadly, that’s appropriate,” Gates added in the interview.
.@BillGates believes we should be prepared for life not to return to normal “even through 2022.”
Gates also said bars and restaurants will “sadly” have to close for the next “four to six months.” pic.twitter.com/Z7QxDpVPgk
— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) December 13, 2020
“Even through early 2022, unless we help other countries get rid of this disease and we get high vaccination rates in our country, the risk of reintroduction will be there,” he said. “And, of course, the global economy will be slowed down, which hurts America’s economy in a pretty dramatic way.”
The billionaire Microsoft founder also lamented the United States’s handling of the pandemic.
“I thought the U.S. would do a better job handling it,” Gates said. “This virus could be more fatal than it is. We didn’t get the worst-case. But the thing that has surprised me is that the economic impact in the U.S. and around the world has been much greater than the forecasts that I made five years ago.”
Gates has been deeply involved with the pandemic, with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation donating $1.75 billion to vaccine development and distribution.
His comments on bars and restaurants closing for months drew criticism from some who claimed the comment was easy for Gates to make, as he is worth $118 billion.
They both have large paychecks. https://t.co/jmkqkxClrp
— Richard Grenell (@RichardGrenell) December 13, 2020
It’s easy to say this when you’re worth $118 billion https://t.co/fBgsR5CknX
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) December 14, 2020
.@BillGates is worth over $118 billion dollars.
He does not care about small businesses like bars, restaurants, and gyms.
Over 99% of people under age 60 (the healthy working class & kids in school) SURVIVE covid.
This is insanity that will devastate people’s lives.#Resist https://t.co/cpC5Z6FBrI
— Marjorie Taylor Greene ?? (@mtgreenee) December 14, 2020
