Photo: REUTERS / Matthew Knight
The founder of Microsoft and one of the world's richest people, Bill Gates, has said that the world won't return to normal until 2022 and that many businesses should be shut in order to curb infection rates within the United States.
His statements were made to CNN as the United States begins to vaccinate the first of its citizens against the deadly CoVid-19 virus. He said that businesses such as cafes and restaurants should remain shut and that all big public gatherings should be stopped from taking place.
.@BillGates on Covid: "Even through 2022” we should be prepared for life to not return to “normal”
— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) December 13, 2020
Says “sadly" it’s "appropriate” for bars and restaurants to close over the next "four to six months" pic.twitter.com/cmDD8pv3XR
The United States has had more deaths from CoVid-19 than any other country, passing 300,000 on Monday, and it is believed that as many as 1 in 5 Americans have now been infected. The death toll in the United States is far worse than every other country in the world.
While Gates did say that by summer 2021 we can expect to be in a far better position than we are now, and that life will have more semblancy of normality, he said we can't expect things to go back to the way they were. Hopes had risen in recent months that with mass vaccine roll-out everything would be returning to normal fairly soon.
Gates also attacked Donald Trump for refusing to concede the presidency and said that his actions were complicating the roll-out of the vaccine. He said:
"The transition is complicating [things,] but the new administration is willing to rely on actual experts and not attack those experts."
He did not however give details as to what these 'complications' were.
Many will be worried that if life does not return to something near normal soon, they will lose their jobs and businesses entirely. Millions of Americans have already been put out of work and in July as many as 51 million were unemployed.
Since the start of the pandemic, many conspiracy theories have sprung up about the billionaire, stating that he wishes to control or cull the population through vaccines, or that he wishes to assert global dominance by undermining the economy. None of these conspiracy theories have any evidence behind them what-so-ever. While the conspiracy theories may not appear to have legitimate grounds, Gates could be criticised for ignoring the struggles of ordinary working people, while he himself is insulated by his gargantuan wealth.
Some took to Twitter to express their displeasure:
Bill Gates wants to destroy America. https://t.co/FYOG7mOiqA
— SUPER-SPREADER Nick Searcy, INT’L FILM & TV STAR (@yesnicksearcy) December 13, 2020
Bill Gates is not a doctor, not even a Jill Biden doctor.
— Cerno (@Cernovich) December 13, 2020
Bill Gates says lockdowns should continue well into 2022, with bars and restaurants shut down for the next six months. Reject this tyrant. pic.twitter.com/2AWaeEuRAd
— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) December 13, 2020
Unless Bill Gates is willing to give his entire fortune away to people who work in the bar and restaurant industry, his opinion is worthless https://t.co/y7M6pS6VS5
— Ryan James Girdusky (@RyanGirdusky) December 13, 2020
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