Bill Gates calls the US coronavirus test 'unorganized'

On March 14, Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates withdrew from the company's board of directors to spend more time with the charitable organization Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, led by him and wife set up. The Gates Foundation has pledged support of $ 100 million to help cope with the disease worldwide, not to mention his $ 5 million of his own money to the Washington state government, which is hardest hit by the disease.

The tech billionaire is also someone with extensive experience in global public health issues, through his work at the foundation. On March 18, Gates participated in a Reddit question and answer session about questions surrounding the Covid-19 epidemic.

In particular, he particularly noted that testing for patients in the US is still being done in an "unorganized" way, which is still scattered and uneven.

"Testing in the US has not been conducted in an organized manner , " Bill Gates said. "In the next few weeks, I hope the government will fix this by having a website that you can visit to learn about home and kiosks testing. There is a bit of a mistake right now. confused about this issue. In Seattle, some organizations are offering thousands of tests every day but none of them are connected to the national monitoring system. "

Who will be affected?

When asked how long the plague will last, Gates answered that it will vary from country to country, and there are many factors that interfere with the time a country will be affected.

"China is seeing very few cases now because its testing and 'isolation' is very effective," he wrote. "If a country does a good job of testing and 'isolating', within six to ten weeks, they will see very few cases and be able to reopen."

But when asked how many of the world's population could be affected, Gates worried that it would have a severe impact on poor countries.

"Some areas like Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore have acted quickly and there will be very few cases , " he said. "Even China will be low (less than 0.01%). Thailand is a good example. Unfortunately, in poor countries, social isolation is much more difficult. People live close to each other." and need to work for a living. So it's possible these countries will be where the virus spreads. "

When can the vaccine appear?

The Bill Gates Foundation is also actively supporting vaccine-related work. A reader asked whether the 18-month period - the amount of time often quoted in vaccine development - could be sped up, Gates noted that this could happen. But he also outlined the difficulties that must be overcome.

"There are more than 6 different efforts going on to create an anti-coronavirus vaccine , " Gates said. "Some use a new method called RNA that has not been proven. We will have to build many manufacturing parts for different methods knowing that some of them will not work. We will need billions of vaccines to protect the world. "

He also gave a type of treatment that could be applied in advance."A therapy may be available before vaccination," Gates said. "Ideally this will reduce the number of people who need special care."

Practical advice of Bill Gates

A Reddit user asked Gates about precautions when delivering food and supplies to older relatives.

"Washing hands is the key," Gates said. "Keep a safe distance. Have others deliver items if you have a fever or cough."