Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates said he has canceled most of his holiday plans due to the threat of the rapidly spreading Omicron version of COVID-19. The billionaire cautioned that the version would “soon be in every country of the world”.
“When it looked like life would return to normal, we may have entered the worst part of the pandemic. For all of us Omicron will be knocking at home. My closest friends have it now, and I’ve canceled most of my vacation plans,” Gates tweeted on Tuesday.
Omicron is spreading faster than any virus in history. Soon it will happen in every country of the world.
— Bill Gates (@BillGates) December 21, 2021
Omicron cases are rising rapidly across the country, with the variant becoming the dominant strain of the coronavirus in the United States, the country with the highest number of Covid cases in the world.
In the meantime, we all have to look out for each other, especially the most vulnerable, whether they live on the street or in another country. That means wearing a mask, avoiding large indoor gatherings, and getting vaccinated. Getting a booster provides the best protection.
— Bill Gates (@BillGates) December 21, 2021
“If there’s good news here, it’s that Omicron moves so fast that once it goes into effect in a country, the wave there should last less than 3 months. Those few months could be worse. But I still believe that if we take the right steps, the pandemic may end in 2022,” Bill Gates said in another tweet in the thread.
“The big unknown is how sick Omicron makes you. We need to take this seriously until we know more about it. Even if it’s only half as serious as Delta , so it will be the worst surge ever because it’s so contagious.”
If there’s good news here, it’s that Omicron moves so fast that once it dominates a country, the wave there should last less than 3 months. Those few months may be bad, but I still believe that if we take the right steps, the pandemic may end in 2022.
— Bill Gates (@BillGates) December 21, 2021
President Joe Biden said on Tuesday that the country was “ready” to fight it.
In India, the government has asked state and district authorities to consider taking containment measures in areas where an increase in the COVID-19 positivity rate is reported.
The assessment that Omicron is more contagious than Delta is a cause for concern as the devastating second wave of the pandemic is believed to have started in India between April and June this year.
On 11 December, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO), also noted that there is considerable evidence suggesting that Omicron is “spreading significantly faster” than the delta variant.