Did Bill Gates' Ted Talk in 2015 predict the dangers of Coronavirus pandemic?

Bill Gates, the second richest man in the world, predicted the outbreak of an epidemic similar to Coronavirus in 2015, warning the world about its dangers. It all happened when the co-founder of Microsoft Corporation participated in the 2015 Ted Talk to talk about 'The next outbreak? We're not ready'. This is where Mr Gates revealed the facts about his fears related to another outbreak of an epidemic in the world.

What did Bill Gates speak about the outbreak of an epidemic and why did he think the world was not ready?

Bill Gates started his Ted Talk by bringing up the fears of a nuclear war at that he faced at the time of his youth. However, later he said that the greatest threat that mankind might face in the future is not nuclear war but an outbreak of an epidemic. According to Gates, "If anything kills 10 million people in the next few decades, is most likely to be a highly infectious virus rather than a war, not missiles but microbes." The predictions so far have been true in the form of Coronavirus pandemic for which the world is still striving to fight.

Source: Ted Talks

Bill Gates also shared his concerns by saying that the world was spending money over nuclear deterrents and less money is spent on building systems that can stop an epidemic. "We are not ready for the next epidemic," said Gates in 2015. The Microsoft Co-founder mentioned the details about Ebola and stated that "the problem was not that system did not work well enough but the problem was we did not have any system at all." 

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In the Ted Talk titled 'The next outbreak? We're not ready', Bill Gates said that the systems placed by the world are slower than expected, which has cost many lives. He raised the concerns that the WHO funds the epidemiologists to monitor such problems but not for permitting the actual fieldwork. 

Bill Gates predicted that the next outbreak would be more devastating than Ebola. He said that "The failure to prepare could allow the next epidemic to be dramatically more devastating than Ebola." Gates cited the fact that Ebola did not reach many urban cities or else the results would have been greater. "Next time we might not be so lucky," says the second richest man. His words have somehow predicted the Coronavirus epidemic's dangers.

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Here's Bill Gates' Ted Talk on the Next Virus Outbreak

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Later he also spoke about how the world can prepare itself from another epidemic. In 2015, Mr Gates gave the world a few points to take notes that the world can use to tackle an epidemic. Below are those points: 

• Strong Health Systems
• Medical Reserve Corps
• Pair Medical & Military
• Simulations (Run Germ Games)
• Step Up Research and Development

While ending his Ted Talk, Bill Gates called Ebola as a wake-up call for the upcoming epidemic. Currently, Coronavirus has been declared as a pandemic by the World Health Organisation (WHO). Coronavirus has affected over 132,000 people around the globe and more than 4,900 people have died because of it. Bill Gates predicted that the world was not ready for another epidemic which is proving to be true.

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