The US should not rush back to normal business life as the coronavirus crisis may last six to 10 weeks, warned billionaire Microsoft founder, Bill Gates.
Gates’ warning followed President Donald Trump’s statement on Tuesday that he hopes to reopen the United States economy and usual business life by Easter, despite the contrary warnings of some public health officials.
In a virtual Ted interview, Gates, who announced his departure from the Microsoft board to focus on Philantrophy and help fight against diseases, warned; ‘
It’s very tough to say to people, “Hey keep going to restaurants, go buy new houses, ignore that pile of bodies over in the corner, we want you to keep spending because there’s some politician that thinks GDP growth is what counts”.
‘It’s hard to tell people during an epidemic that they should go about things knowing their activity is spreading this disease.’
‘The US did not act fast enough to have an ability to avoid the shutdown’, Gates continued.
‘The U.S. is past this opportunity to control (COVID-19) without shutdown. It’s January when everybody should’ve been on notice.’
‘Instead of lasting 18 months until a vaccine can be developed, the present crisis may only last six to 10 weeks in some countries”Bill Gates added.