Bill Gates said he’s canceled “most” holiday plans due to the Omicron variant.
“Just when it seemed like life would return to normal, we could be entering the worst part of the pandemic,” Gates said as he kicked off a Twitter thread about the variant.
“Omicron will hit home for all of us. Close friends of mine now have it, and I’ve canceled most of my holiday plans,” he continued.
But the billionaire also said he believes this current wave of the coronavirus will be over by March of next year since the new coronavirus variant spreads so quickly.
Because of its quick transmissibility, Gates thinks we could get out of this wave in under three months.
“Those few months could be bad, but I still believe if we take the right steps, the pandemic can be over in 2022,” he said.
Gates predicted that because of how quickly it is spreading, Omicron will “be in every country in the world.”
“We need to take it seriously until we know more about it,” Gates said of the variant, which now accounts for 73% of all COVID-19 cases in the US.
“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.
He encouraged his followers to “look out for each other” by doing things like wearing masks, avoiding large, indoor crowds, and getting the vaccine and booster shots.
“Someday the pandemic will end, and the better we look after each other, the sooner that time will come.”
The Omicron variant is quickly spreading throughout the US and currently makes up nearly three-quarters of new cases, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
—Bill Gates (@BillGates) December 21, 2021
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