Bill Gates advised his Twitter millions to be prepared for the worst and declared that he had cancelled his holiday plans following the positive test for COVID-19 by close friends.
The Microsoft founder, Bill Gates, tweeted that the Omicron virus is spreading faster than any other known virus.
“Just as it looked like things would be back to normal, we might find ourselves in the most dangerous part of the pandemic. Omicron is going to hit all of us. Close friends of mine now have it, and I’ve canceled most of my holiday plans,’ he wrote.
The tech mogul’s tweets come as Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top US expert on infectious disease, urged Americans to disinvite unvaccinated people from Christmas gatherings as the fast-spreading Omicron variant fuels infections nationwide.
Gates, in a series of tweets, advised his followers to seriously consider Omicron variants. He also stated that it was forcing him to cancel “most” of his holiday plans.
“We are dealing with an extremely serious situation right now. If there is an unvaccinated individual, I would apologize, but this is not the time. Fauci spoke to MSNBC Tuesday night in an interview.
Omicron is responsible for approximately 73 percent in new US cases.
Over the last week, there have been an average of 148,384 cases per day, which is a 23 percent rise from just two weeks ago. The number of confirmed Omicron cases rose 19% day-over-day to 1,781 on Wednesday, up from 1,485 Tuesday. However, this is only a small fraction of the infections that have been DNA sequenced.
Gates began his seven-part tweet thread lamenting the cancellation of his holiday plans.
Omicron has spread faster than any virus known in history. He added that it will soon reach every country around the globe, in another tweet.
He stated that people need to exercise extra caution until further details are known.
“The biggest unknown is what omicron does to your health. We must take this seriously until we learn more. 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 said.
Gates last saw Melinda, his ex-wife at Jennifer’s September wedding. Melinda requested that all guests be tested and vaccinated prior to attending.
Then he encouraged everyone to ‘look out for one another, especially those most vulnerable’. He said that the best ways to do this were by wearing masks, staying away from large indoor gatherings and getting vaccinated.
According to him, although breakthrough cases will occur in those who have been vaccinated already, vaccines can help keep them from becoming seriously ill and even dying.
He added that the ‘good news’ is that ‘omicron moves so quickly that once it becomes dominant in a country, the wave there should last less than 3 months,’ and said that while those few months could be bad, he still believe that ‘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. His thread ended with the words, “Someday, the pandemic is going to end. And the better we care for each other the sooner it will be.”
Gates’ holidays would have been different this year regardless of the Omicron variant after his divorce to Melinda Gates, his wife of 27 years, was finalized in August.
Both were seen together recently at Jennifer, their daughter’s September wedding. Jennifer requested that all guests be tested and vaccinated prior to attending.
In the US, outbreaks have forced a wave of disruptions, with holiday parties canceled, the NHL suspending games through Christmas and withdrawing from the Winter Olympics, and Fox canceling its New Year’s Eve telecast from Times Square.
Many Americans continue to plan for Christmas. TSA screening data shows that more than 12.5 millions Americans have flown by plane in the past week, which is nearly double what was recorded last year.
Fauci stated earlier that the US was considering reducing the 10 day isolation period for COVID-19-infected people who are fully vaccinated.
Doctor Anthony Fauci stated Wednesday that reducing the timeframe “is being discussed”, especially for healthcare workers. This was just hours after England cut its quarantine to 10 days from seven.
Fauci said that a Healthcare worker infected with the virus and not showing any symptoms should be removed from work immediately.