'My close friends have it': Bill Gates expresses concern over Omicron surge

Bill Gates, the millionaire co-founder of Microsoft, took to the social media platform Twitter to alert his followers about the rapidly spreading new variant of the Corona Virus. Through a series of tweets he posted on Tuesday, he asked his followers to take cognizance of the new Omicron variant and its worrisome nature.

Hyderabad: Amid the raising concerns regarding the surge in Omicron cases across the world, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates has alerted the public about the new strain through a series of tweets, wherein he also declared that he has cancelled most of his holiday plans because of the worrisome nature of the new variant.

Through this series of tweets posted on Tuesday, he expressed concerns over many of his close friends getting infected by the virus recently and highlighted the fact that the world "could be entering the worst part of the pandemic".

Gates' tweets further emphasized on the unprecedented reinfection rate that the new variant is exhibiting, as well as the lack of competent information about it among even the topmost experts of the world at the moment.

"Omicron is spreading faster than any virus in history. It will soon be in every country in the world," tweeted Mr Gates.

"The big unknown is how sick omicron makes you...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 added in a subsequent tweet.

The tweets are being contemplated as warnings ahead of the Christmas and new year celebrations, when people are likely to mingle more. The more crucial reason for his tweets could be the cognizance of a sudden and exponential surge in Omicron cases in US with infections jumping from 3 per cent to 73 per cent within a single week.

Emphasizing on the importance of precautionary measures at this point, he suggested that "wearing masks, avoiding big indoor gatherings, and getting vaccinated" be considered crucial. "Getting a booster gives the best protection," noted one of his tweets, promoting full vaccination against the corona virus.

"There will be more breakthrough cases in people who are vx'd, which sounds concerning but is purely a factor of how many people are vx'd and how fast this variant is spreading. Vaccines are designed to prevent people from getting seriously ill or dying & are doing that well," read one of the tweets in his series.

• Just when it seemed like life would return to normal, we could be entering the worst part of the pandemic. Omicron will hit home for all of us. Close friends of mine now have it, and I’ve canceled most of my holiday plans.

  — Bill Gates (@BillGates) December 21, 2021 " class="align-text-top noRightClick twitterSection" data="

  Just when it seemed like life would return to normal, we could be entering the worst part of the pandemic. Omicron will hit home for all of us. Close friends of mine now have it, and I’ve canceled most of my holiday plans.

  — Bill Gates (@BillGates) December 21, 2021

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  Just when it seemed like life would return to normal, we could be entering the worst part of the pandemic. Omicron will hit home for all of us. Close friends of mine now have it, and I’ve canceled most of my holiday plans.

  — Bill Gates (@BillGates) December 21, 2021

The millionaire businessman ended his thread of awareness tweets on a positive note. "If there's good news here, it's that omicron moves so quickly that once it becomes dominant in a country, the wave there should last less than 3 months. It won't be like this forever. Someday the pandemic will end, and the better we look after each other, the sooner that time will come," he said.

He also expressed belief in the fact that with the right steps, the pandemic will be over by the end of 2022, giving hopes to his fellow Twitter followers.