While the coronavirus pandemic surprised most of the world, it appears that Bill Gates had been well aware that a new virus would be imminent. The billionaire businessman gave a TED Talk back in 2015 where he discussed the likelihood of a new virus would spread through the world, and his description is uncannily similar to current events.
WATCH: Bill Gates predicting a pandemic back in 2015
In the video, which has resurfaced on YouTube, he says: "Today the greatest risk of global catastrophe doesn't look like [nuclear war], it looks like [a virus]. If anything kills over ten million people in the next few decades, it is most likely to be a highly infectious virus than a war... Part of the reason for this is that we have invested a huge amount in nuclear deterrents, but very little on a system to stop an epidemic. We're not ready for the next epidemic."
Bill spoke about an epidemic in detail during his TED Talk
The 64-year-old continued to point out that there whenever the next virus took place, there wouldn't be a system in place to deal with it, medical teams ready to go, and that it would spread as people initially wouldn't realise that they were carriers. Speaking about how Ebola was dealt with, he said: "The failure to prepare could allow the next epidemic to be dramatically more devastating than Ebola... Ebola does not spread through the air, and by the time you're contagious, most people are so sick, they are bedridden... you can have a virus where people feel well enough while they're infectious that they go on a plane or go into a market."
People were quick to discuss the video, with one writing: "He predicted this..and nobody was really paying attention," while another added: "Wow. He was absolutely 100% on point correct."
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