As the Omicron variant of COVID-19 is spreading rapidly around the world, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates has warned that the world may be entering the worst part of the pandemic. Billionaire Bill Gates warned people via a Twitter thread on Tuesday. “Just when it seemed like life would return to normal, we could be entering the worst part of the pandemic. Omicron will hit home for all of us. Close friends of mine now have it, and I’ve cancelled most of my holiday plans,” Gates tweeted.
Someday the pandemic will end
He predicted that the new variant would soon be present in every country on the planet. Despite the lack of data on “how sick Omicron makes you,” Gates emphasised the importance of taking it seriously until more is known. “Even if it’s only half as severe as delta. It will be the worst surge we have seen so far because it’s so infectious,” he warned. We will soon see an increase in cases of people who have already been vaccinated developing the disease. “Which sounds concerning but is purely a factor of how many people are vaccinated and how fast this variant is spreading. Vaccines are designed to prevent people from getting seriously ill or dying and are doing that well,” Gates wrote on Tuesday.
In the meantime, he advised people to keep an eye out for one another. And to follow Covid’s guidelines for appropriate behaviour. “Once it becomes dominant in a country, the wave there should last less than 3 months,” he went on to say. “Those few months could be bad. But I still believe if we take the right steps, the pandemic can be over in 2022. I know it’s frustrating to go into another holiday season with Covid looming over us. But it won’t be like this forever. Someday the pandemic will end. And the better we look after each other, the sooner that time will come,” Gates wrote.